Small Q
Appearances
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Imagine not anything you have got to eat for four days. He was put back on the handcuffs, but he kept on shouting. Then the general himself... He ordered these guys to keep beating him until he keeps quiet. They started beating him on the head. I saw blood coming out of him. Then he eventually stopped shouting. And it is at this moment that I got to know this guy is not alive anymore.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
I saw him stopping breathing right just beside me like this. Because this side he was the Ethiopian, this side was the Ugandan. So this guy on this side asked me, what is happening? I can't hear him anymore. Man, it's tears that came out of my eyes. Because this guy was already dead. We froze. Anyone who was trying to
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
plan anything because we're also trying to plan to you know to you know imagine we are in a military base but you're trying to even plan to you know get off those handcuffs and maybe run but this was like an example to us that you can't do you can't do anything inside here eventually the man's body was removed but most of the others were too delirious to notice
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
You know, first things first, they had to know which situation I was passing through. I told them everything. I prayed with my father on phone and I gave them hope that I'm still alive and one day I'll come back home.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Like I was telling you before, this place is called the dark room, but it's not actually dark. During day, you are hit by the sun directly because we was on something like a net around us. So handcuffed on those hooks. So during day from seven to six, you were hit by the sun on your body. Man, there is a point I saw my bones. We tried to ask for water because we felt so thirsty.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
But these guys used to bring a pipe. with salt water which we actually got to know this is their urine because they used to connect it to some pit hole there and they used to you know give us to drink like this so your testing is when you realize this is urine now you can't just take it anymore so this is how badly these guys treated us inside that room
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
I felt so frozen. I couldn't move even just a muscle like this. There's a point when you can't feel the pain anymore. Blood has stopped working and moving in your body. So these guys actually used to bring a baton on us and lift your head like this to see if you were just alive. But when you are still breathing, it's all good. So he goes on another person to monitor and everything like that.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So on the fifth day, I don't even remember if it's the fifth day, but counting the days that I saw the sun. is when I saw the Chinese bosses now come to this room. Remember, they are the ones that ordered us to be taken there. So now they come to check on us They move around. They asked, like they asked me before, in that room after being, you know, electrified and punished.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Only power you had. was to say only two words, actually one word, among yes or no. They just said yes. And we were taken. So me and my teammates, because I had some guys there, we had that passion of going back home. So we felt like if we show these people that we are not, you know, cowards, that we can take even any risk of dying inside here. Maybe they can let us go back home.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
But they were unhelpful in the first place because everyone was like, you guys are so far. We don't have access there.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So we're like, no, we're not getting back to those computers. We said no. You said no? These guys laughed. That's wild. And they didn't actually believe it that we have said no to go back, you know, to that life that we were actually fed up of before even.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Because they felt like now these people, even though it's harsh in there, 20 hours a day, whatever and everything, they're going to say yes because this is bad than that. But we said no. But truth is that we are almost dying, man.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So after other hours, now being punished badly because every single second you try to doze, every single second you try to doze, these guys finally knew we are going to die in this place. They said, get them off their handcuffs. Opening those handcuffs, I thought I could even stand. But putting down the leg, I just fall down like this.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So it's the army now that hold me on this hand and the other guy hold me on this hand to raise me up. Then from the dark room, straight to work. Oh, man. I thought these guys are taking us to our containers, maybe to rest, maybe to, you know, to bring back our brains and everything. But all I saw was, you know, being taken upstairs in that room. Then they sat me on a computer.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Smelling very bad. I couldn't even mind about that at that point. All I was feeling is pain. I sat down. Tried to pretend that I'm typing so I don't be punished. But this is when I collapsed.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
They told me, man, we thought you were dead. These military people brought you here from the office. We thought you were dead. I asked them, are we still in this place? They said, yeah, man, we are still here. We are just back from work. And just know, you are going to work. These people, we know these people, they are not going to leave you to rest. So I used this time to rest.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
But man, I was smelling bad and everything, so I had to, you know, wake up and clean myself. But I couldn't move, so these guys helped me. And I big up on them wherever they were, man. Yeah, my family now. Actually, we are still, you know, looking out to each other, you know, checking on ourselves to see if each other is taking care of themselves. So that's how the dark room was.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
I was able, you know, to bring my muscles back because I tried to make some exercises out when I got out. Yeah, finally I started working again and got to work afterwards.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
I would say that this small finger right here still pains me. Because, you know, them putting their handcuffs on this hand like this and on the other hand like this, blood stopped moving. And remember, I tried also to... Especially your little fingers. Yeah, so, and remember, I was trying to, you know, to pull... Actually, I don't try, but it pulls yourself, like you lose that power, you know?
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So, they are still paining me. That's the right thing. I actually had some, you know, bruises around here because those scar caps cut me very bad here. Actually, blood to come out as well. But I got some medication, so I'm good right now.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
We made massage like ourselves. We used to help each other, you know, rubbing their hands like this, like this, the African way, so that we can, you know, use them again.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Yeah, I remember when we got out actually, on my food like that, I was given a small rice after in a polythene bag. I saw some guy, you know, still starving. And, you know, I was feeling pain here in the neck to take that rice. So all I had to do was to give it to the other guy. So that's how we used to treat each other there.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
You know, I come from a place where we don't care about how others treat us, but we care more about how we treat others. That's something that I've been taught from my childhood by my father and the people where I come from.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Amazing. The next days, I used to take this phone inside the office to charge it from there. Then I get back with it off work. But you know where I put it to pass it through those, you know, security guys? Just under my shoe. It was a Jordan 4. It was a big shoe. So I just put it inside there. Then I step on it with some clothes inside. then it wouldn't be damaged, but I was moving so slow.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
This is the moment when we now try to look for plan B. Man, we never gave up on this.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
so we were like we need to get communication to let people back home that we are in this kind of this situation or else we're gonna die because if we try any other attempt of escaping we're gonna be killed we've just tested this this guy's hunger and everything so let's try to to figure out how we're gonna get out of this place in another way
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
And she was like, you guys, I know about your stories. I'm happy to hear from you that you guys are all alive. So I was able to send a location using WhatsApp with my team. I wouldn't say that I did this all alone. She was able, you know, to access contact inside that marital camp.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
and communicated to the guy called Mr. X. Now this was like the biggest boss who took over this, you know, was running and controlling this camp at the mountain. The conversation between them, it was, I need my kids. I'm the ambassador of Uganda in Malaysia. I just got to know that you have almost 50 Ugandans in that camp As the government of Uganda, we need those people to be rescued.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
We need those people freed. But the reply from this guy was, it's okay, we're going to give you these people, but we're going to need $10,000 each of them to be free.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
They transferred us from the mountain after getting to know that we have accessed funds and we are now communicating back home. to take us to a place where we couldn't access anything.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
They put bags everywhere like this. They removed everything. But I still survived with my phone. How did you manage to hold on to it that long? I had a backpack. Then inside there is a soft sponge. where I put it in the back. So when you touch that sponge, you just feel like this is a sponge. So they couldn't know that there is a phone.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Now this is 2024. I won't say that I remember the month. But we started working in this place, got used to it, punished like every day, like always. There is a dark room as well there. This time around it was very bad that it had no space. It was actually dark now because it was a room. They put you there for 24 hours, anytime they want, without eating.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
But other punishments included standing in the sun for almost 20 hours as well. Others are working, so for you they tell you, tomorrow when you come to work, just stand there outside in the sun.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
I used to pray every day. Now this is the side of me personally. Like each and every day I used to pray. I used to read the Bible. Man, I'm so happy that I survived with my Bible in there. I don't know if these guys didn't know what the Bible is because they used to take a lot of stuff, like jewelry, phones, mirrors, anything we had like is, you know,
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
God, I used to take it, but my Bible survived. I went with my Bible, it survived. I used to read it every day. I was praying and I was telling to God, if you are the God that got the Israelites from Egypt, the promised land, Please get us out of this place.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Because we were like now, the Israelites back in the days, you know, being slaves in Egypt, being used and, you know, that labor without payment and everything. So that was my prayer.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Just find yourself being punished. They used to put us on walls. Then they make you face the other side. Then they stroke you, stroke you, stroke you, up to when even the stick is not able to stroke you anymore.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
You are now the boss. So you have to punish them. This was kind of tricky as well. But we couldn't punish our brothers and sisters. So this was like, man, I can't do that. They were just playing with our minds all along.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
And these people were even badder than the Chinese. You got to know these people that they are bad because they used to fight themselves right in the office. You see someone standing, then he goes boxes someone like this. What are you doing? Now this is like a supervisor has done something wrong at work.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
They used to come to our dormitories, search everywhere to look for those phones and everything. Because other people were getting more phones, more phones each and every day using my trick that I used last time. So they knew we were taking phones.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
And others actually used to get them anyhow, because there were a lot of phones inside there. So they didn't even pass through some punishments.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
We own you people. We own your lives. They are saying they are our gods. If you do this, I'm going to take you to the dark room.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
It's the most, most, most, most bad place on earth. This is a place I stopped thinking. This is a place I felt like I should die.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So me and a few Ugandans, we made a small meeting and we were like, at night, we're going to escape and run away, but we don't know even where we're going to pass. But what we knew after the river is Thailand. And remember, we are near the river because sometimes we used to access Google and everything to know where we are. So that was the plan.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So they waited up to night when we are still inside these rooms and remember this is what this was the time for us to escape as well. So we just saw these guys coming back with Mary Tully, very, very, very angry and aggressive. They put each of us on handcuffs like this.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Yeah, for the female. Then the male, they were putting us on handcuffs like this.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Yeah, because we used to fight, why are you putting us on handcuffs? What's happening? So me and my team, we felt like our plan was already demolished. Like we couldn't continue with the plan because these guys have now come, put us on handcuffs.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So they used to ask us, are you willing to work? You go back, you sit on the computer, or are you willing to refuse? These were questions from the military. So like I said, we're fed up of this place. And we're like, whatever comes. If they want to kill us, they're going to kill us. If they want to do anything to us, we're not going back to those computers. We're not scamming people anymore.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
We want to go back home. So for those who got scared and were like, we're going to continue with the work. We are punished somehow, maybe some hero strokes, then taken back to the officers. But me and my team of almost 25 guys, Ugandans, some two Kenyans, a girl and his brother, And other five Ethiopians, actually, we was the team that put up that strike during day.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So me and my team, almost 30 people, we are hanged in that dark room.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Have you ever gone to a butcher where they keep meat? So they hanged us up on some metal hooks. Imagine on handcuffs, holding your own weight. So you're suspended off the ground. Yeah, man. Are your feet touching the ground? Nope. And at a certain point you use, you know, to try to touch the ground so that you don't feel that pain.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
But these guys made it intentional so that we don't touch the ground. So we are lifting ourselves up on those hooks. Then we were not allowed to eat or drink for all the time we spent in there. We were not allowed to use, you know, washrooms. So each and everything you had to do, you had to do it there on yourself. Pool and pool. Man, this is so emotional.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Because when I remember this stuff, man, it's like... I felt like not even just a slave. I felt like, God, what have I done, you know, to pass in this kind of situation, bro?
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
The first day, I was like, we can make it. We can make it with my brothers because we are, you know, trying to have a conversation. Man, why are these guys putting us here? Are they going to kill us? So hours we are moving as we are, you know, trying to communicate. The second day, none of us was able even to speak a word according to the pain.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
These guys were monitoring us. They had those electric sticks, some of them holding guns. When they find you just dozing like this, they're going to beat you, they're going to kick you, they're going to use those electric sticks on you so they don't actually doze. One of us, the Ugandans, fainted and the only way to get him back was to put an electric stick on him.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So this got us so scared and we were like, let's fight sleep. But you know, sleep is something you can't fight, my brother. So we failed and what I was hearing around was noise. You know, people crying for their lives because everyone was now dozing. So they used to put sticks on him like this the second day. We feel like this is the end of it now. We are getting out.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
But these guys kept us more days, more days inside there. It's called the dark room, not because it's dark inside, but the place where you lose your brain and your brain goes dark, like you don't think about anything anymore. You lose your mind. You start imagining stuff that's not there. Man, there is a certain point I imagined like I'm in heaven, like I've died now.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
So I started talking to myself. I was like, God, so this is heaven. This is heaven already. Is this heaven? Why am I feeling pain? Tell me, God, am I in hell or heaven? So at this point, I didn't even recognize that there was someone on the fourth day when I was in the dark room. At a certain point, I also imagined myself moving, like I saw myself free, but I was actually still in the same place.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Then I started hearing my brothers passing through the same situation, talking to themselves. Others were laughing out loud. Others communicating to their loved ones like, mommy, mommy. How are you? Have you ever been in a place like you were having your last moments on earth? So that was like something happening to everyone inside there.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
He tried to open these handcuffs to escape. But as he was opening like this, a military guy saw him and told him to stop. But the guy didn't stop, even though the military guy was there. So the military guy started beating him with a stick, beating him with a stick on the thigh. Then he headed these upper parts, beating him in the chest, beating him in the chest, telling him to stop.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
I had crammed the password for that Wi-Fi, even though the dormitories, it was not a long, long distance. So I was able to log it in.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
But this guy was like... You guys don't own me. He got them off. But him trying to stand like this, he couldn't even just take a step to run. So this guy, the military guy, just kept on beating him everywhere, everywhere. He was joined by more military guys than the head of that security department in there. came and told them to stop to put him back on the handcuff.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
Putting him back on the handcuff, the guy was already fed up of this place, very traumatized. Remember, it's the fourth day in there. So he started shouting, just shouting, like making a lot of noise. But at some point me, I got to hear some words. He was like, let me out of this place. At least I go say bye-bye to my mom. Then I come back. You guys kill me. That's something that he asked for.
SCAMMERLAND
Enter the 'Dark Room'
And him saying that is something that I also felt that I would want to, I would want to, you know, to, to have at least before I die, like to say goodbye to my family, my loved ones. But these guys, it was actually not possible because we were far from home by something that we longed for, maybe for our last hours on earth. Because, man, we felt so bad.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
She was like, I'm happy to hear from you that you guys are all alive. Where are you exactly? So I was able to send a location using WhatsApp with my team. I wouldn't say that I did this all alone because we're exchanging ideas and everything.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
Even in the dark room, I used to write a lot of songs. including a song that I made talking about my story, which is called Tumutende. It means let's praise him. Tumutende is a Lugandan word. Let's praise him. If you read the lyrics of this song, it starts when I'm saying the owner of the world, he can control this world. So why don't you praise him? He can get you out of any situation.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
He was able to get me out of hell. I'm sure he can give me a good future. I don't know if I can give you a sample of that song here.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
Yeah, I'm sure you don't understand everything in this song, but based on what I've heard, you can now relate. He's right.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
I always give hope to people that You don't have to worry about me. I'm going to be fine. I still have bigger dreams now, actually. Like I want to go back to school, finish with school, that computer science and everything, to get that degree so that I get a perfect job for it. Yeah, man. So that's it. I'm still me.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
It's such a blessing, man. I've been so blessed to be here to share my story to the world. You know, it's going to help a lot of people that, you know, have ideas about going to countries where they, you know, have no, anyone they know, they're not sure about what they're going to do. So if someone watches this, it's going to think twice.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
They actually scared us at a point to be like, we're going to kill you to get maybe organs, you guys, and sell you.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
We woke up one day, it was around 11 a.m. and they told us, pack your stuff and go. This was like a dream, we didn't actually believe. I remember I even forgot a lot of stuff there, my property there, like the clothes, everything. Because we rushed, I just woke up, I put everything in the bag, then I got outside.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
We couldn't even believe that we are getting out. 23 of us, they read our names. Moises Gideon. That was the first timer. That's my name.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
And I was like, yeah, man, we've made it.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
This was not the Gideon that left in the first place. The happy one. Because, man, I went taking selfies, thinking I'm going to change my life and people around me. But now coming back without anything. Imagine my brother. Just my dirty clothes in my bag. Man, this is very emotional, bro.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
Yeah, but God is the greatest man. I was able to come back with life. And this is something that I'm grateful for each and every day.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
I'm not trying to tell that everywhere is bad. But before you go somewhere, make sure these people, you trust them. Make sure you know someone at least there. Actually, Thailand was not like my dream country to go to. I've always, you know, dreamt to come to countries like Australia, USA, but this was like looking for greener pastures. It was mainly more about, you know, changing my life.
SCAMMERLAND
Small Q’s Escape and the Fight to End Forced Scamming
So yeah, let this be a message to the youth watching us that, man, you have to be so cautious about where you're going before. Make sure the process is right.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
It's somewhere that I couldn't even dream to be, you know?
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Even for a day or something that I had, because I was so scared. This guy used a speedboat, but it was looking so bad. Like, I didn't even feel comfortable in it. I almost felt I'm going to fall in water at a certain point. Remember, they were on a rush. So we crossed the river from the other side to Burma.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So getting to mourning, the first thing I saw was like a kid holding a gun outside the car. Everywhere I didn't see anything good about this country when I got there. So we continued the journey to mourning. In the car, I couldn't even, you know, blink or try to doze because I was so scared. I didn't know what's happening any time from there.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
When we got into the gate, this is when I saw that there are more military guys inside here. It was, you know, having strong security. Cameras everywhere. And everyone was kind of busy. This was looking like a company. Everyone is, you know, trying to focus on his own business inside here.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So after some hours, you know, man, I'm like, at least I can get a nap like for 20 minutes, you know, to keep my head sober. Yeah. But again, there came a security guy who was like, don't dose, don't sleep.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
I wouldn't, you know, know why, man, because this guy was as well armed. So I was like, man, what's happening? I can't even get a nap. And so after some hours again, there's a guy who came, he came with a lady. This guy was speaking English. So he told me, you are here to scam. I was like, what? He told me, yes, you are here to scam.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
What we tell you is what you have to do if you want to stay alive in this place. I was like, no, this is not what I was told to do. I want to get to my, are you guys my bosses? I want to get to my bosses to ask them where is the supermarket? How am I going to be paid? And this is not Bangkok. I need you guys to take me back to Bangkok. So they didn't reply anything. They just laughed.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So the next day they told me, pick up your bags, follow us. Getting outside, it was morning around nine. They got me inside the car and we were like, we are taking you to another place. We continued the journey, but now these guys were, yeah, deeper into Myanmar. So again, they were driving at a high speed. We got inside the mountain because the park that I've been in was called the mountain.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
And now I'm in a military base. So I was so scared, my brother.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
They opened the gate. I got inside. There is a Chinese boss. I can call him a boss. I followed him up to a certain building inside this marital base, which was like another office because I saw the same people on every floor, on computers. And at the same time that brought my senses back was seeing a black man for the first time inside there. This was a guy, you know, getting out of the office.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
I tried to communicate to him actually, but he never replied. He looked to be like someone who has been punished, someone who has no even power to move.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Yeah, this got me scared as well. So there is a guy, he was called Zeyu, a Chinese guy. They got me inside. He made me sit on a chair inside. He gave me a computer. Then he told me, this is your working place now. I resisted to touch the computer, even the keyboard man, because this is not the job I was promised to do. And again, I resisted to work.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So this guy was like come in the conference room. I went there. Yes, I entered. Another guy entered, very tall in size, full of tattoos everywhere on his body. The guy just kicked me off. He just kicked you. Yeah, man, started punching me like this. Then he grabbed an electric stick, then put it on my back without even saying anything. Then he started shouting in Chinese.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Yeah, man, he started shouting in Chinese. I didn't even understand what he was saying. But just, no, man, I was so scared. This guy was about to kill me, man. So all I was doing was shouting, saying, stop what are you doing? So the translator came to me and said, man, we told you just sit down and start working. You're going to die in this place. If it was you, Mr. Julian, what would you do?
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
I'd probably start working. I stood up and went back to the office by myself without anyone touching me. Then I sat on the computer and started typing even things that I didn't know that I was typing, man.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Loud music, loud music, every single hour, every single second inside there. You know, the first music that I had in the car on my way. That was the type of music these guys play every time they play electronic music, which is so loud that you need, you just focus on what you're doing. Why, why do they play this music? As we talk about now, I can even still remember how this music sounds.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
It's like, you know, this music changes your mind. So it doesn't allow you to think about anything just about their work.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
I'm a musician and I appreciate any kind of art. I can say that I hated the music, though I wouldn't say that I loved the music. Maybe I can say I was not comfortable with the music because it was so loud.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
That's right, in that perspective. Okay, so how did that day finally end? It was actually morning. When we was told that it's off work, they send a message in a telegram group, text there and be like, it's off work now. And if you have not reached the target, you serve some punishments like running.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So there was a guy I asked and I was like, man, what is this place? What are we doing here? The guy said, just do what these people tell you to do if you want to survive. Just like the translator told me. We've been here for some months. Others been here for some years. But the only way you can survive in this place is to do what they tell you. Just make sure I reach this guy's targets.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
We never know when we are getting out of this place. This guy told me, actually, follow me. Let me take you where we're going to get something to eat. But we have to wait for these guys to eat first. Because for us here, we eat leftovers.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Because that was the road inside there. The Chinese first get something to eat. Then after run, we go after and get, you know, the rest of the food that has actually been used already. So it was kind of, you know, very bad. And this was the first time, you know, eating leftovers for someone.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
That's right. So we entered this bad looking place. We got that food and this guy was telling me long stories. Man, I've seen people being cut off hand. I've seen people dying here. This place is so serious about this. This is a scamming place. You have to be so, you know, cautious about, you know, your life here. So what you can do is Just be humble. Just do what they tell you.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
You're going to survive in this place. Man, this got me scared a lot. Yeah. We got those leftovers. Then we headed to the other containers that I put my bags. When you say a container, do you mean like a shipping container? Not a shipping one, but it's a metallic container, kind of a shelter.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Yeah, these were our dormitories, but these guys for them were staying in permanent buildings.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So that was how the first day went. When I just put my head down like this, having a nap, It was so quick that I was told to race again just after some few hours because I thought maybe I'm going to race for 12 hours or 8 hours. But just after three hours, imagine, I was waking up and was like, time for working by these marital people.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
20 hours a day. No off days. Just constant work.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Imagine we were not even allowed to move inside there. You only go for a short call once during those 20 hours a day of working. Once or twice, if it's an emergency. So we are on those computers, very bright, bright lights in that room, loud music for almost six months inside there, my brother.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
It sounds like a nightmare. This is hell, my brother. This place is hell.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Well, I'm so humbled to be here, Mr. Julian. Actually, it's nice to see, like, to add the face on the voice finally.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
I wanna thank you and go deep with body and you go.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Well, I come from a very humble background. Actually, my father is a pastor. He's someone that I can say has inspired me in my life, you know. And actually, to let you know that I'm a gospel artist as well, so it comes from the family. But also, as every creative knows, you've got to have a plan B. I come from a country that has a problem of unemployment.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So right in my small city, I was like, let me open an internet cafe to help people access the internet.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
He first came, you know, to print some papers, which I actually just saw that it was like passports of some people. And he told me, man, I see you're good with computer. And I know some guys in Dubai, you know, they want some people that can work for them in a supermarket as, you know, data entrants.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
He was my customer, so he used to come by every time, you know, to remind me about it. So there is this day I was like, man, tell me more about it. He was like, suddenly the jobs are now gone in Dubai. They are over. But I know another person is in Thailand, Southeast Asia.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Actually, he showed me some footage of some guys that have just, you know, traveled a few weeks ago, Ugandans as well. So they have every detail. So he was like, these guys are there already. They are working. They are being paid $1,000 every day. You should try this, man. Yeah, yeah.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
And the fact that I had, you know, that dream of changing my life and people around me, I was like, yeah, man, let me try this.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
I had to now sell everything in my shop because the ticket was around, you know, 4 million shillings.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Truth is that I was so happy. Because the first step I put on this plane, it was like a dream coming true. You know, these are developed countries. We all have a mindset that when you go there, life is going to change. And not just your life, but people around you. Like I became hope back home. My family and everyone was like, yeah, finally God has made it. Let's see what comes out.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
That's right. You know, getting to a point to leave the carrier behind, you know, the music carrier, like I sold everything from the shop And other properties, I wouldn't say here, man, but everything that I owned by that time, I had to sell it for this opportunity.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
I was told to wait at gate 8. There came out a big guy, was kind of Asian. So he came out and be like, oh, yeah, it's you. Let's go to the hotel. You're going to meet your bosses the next day. So me, in my own understanding, I was like, maybe the hotel is just near the airport.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So I got into the car, actually into the front seat, passenger seat. and we drove off from the airport. After some hours, I was curious about us not getting to the destination and I started asking him some questions.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Yeah, so continuing the journey, now it's around 6 p.m., imagine. We left the airport around 2.30. I got scared, man. I tried to pull the door. It was kind of locked. The door was locked. That's a bad moment.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
The guy went out of the car, was like, come out, come out. But, you know, speaking in his language, just showing me sign like this. I first stayed in the car for some few minutes. Then these guys were like, came to the car and opened it in a very, you know, hush way. Then they pulled me out. Like aggressively pulled you out.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
yeah man aggressively pulled me out they pulled my back my back from the back as well because you know i had a backpack and they made me you know to kneel down just outside the car oh what was what were you feeling at that moment man i was so so so scared
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
and you know i tried to you know to fight them but i was alone these guys were like five now plus the driver so you tried to like push them back or you threw a punch or something yeah to push them back asking them what's happening what's going on then just at that moment is when i saw that some someone among them had the gun like it like a handgun
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Actually, it was my first time, you know, seeing someone close with a gun like that in all my life.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
So we waited for some hours in this location. These guys were keeping an eye on me so that I don't do any more.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
the ground i you know got a lot of you know ideas are like should i run but these guys have a gun should i bring out my phone they might take it so all i had to do was to chill for some hours that would be hard like trying to not panic while just staying still i think that'd be really hard Yeah, man, but as well, I was praying, man.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
I was like, God, it's only you who can get me out of this situation right now.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
After some time, around four hours, imagine in that same place. There are two cars that came along at a very, very high speed. They parked at this location. These guys grabbed my luggage. They put it in the back. Then they got me in the car forcefully again. Okay. Okay. sitting on either sides in the back, another two guys in front.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Then this guy, you know, got his gun from this side and put it in the car like this.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Yeah. Then he put on loud music. It was Chinese music, based on the language I was hearing.
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
Yeah, yeah, yeah, electronic music. I was so scared. I don't know. I was like, these guys are putting on loud music to kill me in the car. What's happening now?
SCAMMERLAND
How a Fake Job Offer Landed Me in Slavery
But remember, there is a guy on this side. There's a guy as well. So I was in the middle and he couldn't do anything. Then they drove off at a very high speed from this location, from the warehouse.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
Supervisor comes randomly, just checks what are you texting. The telegrams on the computers were mirrored, screen mirrored on this guy's computers. So they monitored us, each and everything we're doing.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
But at this point, I was, someone called Zilong. He called me once in his office and told me, I'm going to teach you something. It was to purchase USN numbers. Going to that office, I was able to see a lot of unused phones there, like phones that are not being used in that room. It was almost a hundred phones, iPhone SEs.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
So what I had to do was to look for a way to access that office, and that only way was to... deny working so that they take me to that office because that's what they told me. If you fail rules and regulations here, we're going to take you to our office where you won't even survive a day.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
I refused to type for some hours, so the supervisor came to me and said, why are you not working? I didn't reply to him. Why are you not working? I didn't reply to him. He said I'm going to call your boss. I didn't still do anything. So he communicated to him through Telegram because I saw him texting. Then he was told to pick me up and take me to the other place.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
I saw a Chinese young boy younger than me down on the floor on handcuffs being electrified by this guy. That's what I found him doing. But this guy looked to be even, what can I say, uncautious. But the guy was still punishing him, punishing him. So I knew this is what is going to happen to me now. I was in my black jumper. It had some, you know, some pockets here. I know he tried to remove it.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
Then I said, no, don't get it off me because I knew it's going to be so painful when he put that electric stick on me. These guys holding me like this. Then they started electrifying me for almost 30 minutes. But nothing I could do, man. These were like military guys holding me.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
But now imagine that for 30 minutes. The pain is unexplainable. That's what I can tell you, my brother. You feel like you don't even think about anything. Your brain freezes instantly. They are animals. That's the right word for them.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
Doing this to me was actually laughing. But I didn't forget my plan. Right there, as I was kneeling down, I was near a table. Because I used to fight, you know, heading the other side of the table which had the phones. I'm from a Christian family, my brother. I wouldn't say stealing is something good, but at this point I had to do it. I stole a phone from this table and I put it in my pocket.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
These guys were focusing on other steps. He was shouting to them. And they were replying to him. So it is this moment that I used to access and, you know, get that phone very quietly and put it in my pocket in that jumper.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
I knew there were cameras. I knew there were everything, but I just prayed to God because I actually also knew they were going to check me when I'm getting out. Because they used to check each and every one was coming. So I put it in my pockets and I knew either I go out alive or if they know that I have taken this phone, I'm going to die in this place.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
Leave around the guy I saw dying. Each and every day we used to look for people that, where's this guy? Where's this Ethiopian guy? We don't see him anymore. They were always killed and put on rivers and their bodies were taken.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
I was able to go out of this office safely. The fact that I was being punished, so the bodyguards wouldn't mind. They knew I couldn't do anything suspicious. So God helped me. I passed that door. I was taken back to that office. I just pulled out this phone. I put it among these ones. That's when I was able to, yeah, between that. Oh, like between, like between shifts.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
So that's when I was able to, you know, to get that phone from that office. Getting it inside, you know, the dormitory, my guys were just celebrating. We're like, man, you've got us out of this place. They actually rose me like this. They are like, man, you've did it. Now we have access to communicate to our people back home.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
My guys were so happy, and we had the hope now that we're going to communicate back home. Actually, the phone I'm talking about, actually, I have it even here. I came back with it from that hell.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
It was like a souvenir, something that I wanted to come back with to know that I was able to get out of that place.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
You send the picture, and you know, men, about beautiful girls, they fall so easily. So they were like, oh, you look beautiful. I don't know you. So that's how the conversation went going on in the first place.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
They gave them to us and actually these were real people inside there that we were working with. But we were under also, you know, force. They didn't do it with their own will. They were allowed to be models in Bangkok because I was able to access one of these models to communicate with her.
SCAMMERLAND
Escaping Starts With Stealing a Phone
She was from Belarus and she told me her story, which was very sad that actually they were used sometimes sexually.