She does not look like a sex slave. Pretty, with coffee-colored skin, looking perhaps 17 years old, she could be a cheerleader, or volleyball player, or a dancer — anything but what is seems she is.
But we found her photo online, someone in our group spoke to her on the phone numerous times to try to make an appointment with her, and so here we are. She dips her feet in the hotel Jacuzzi, which is adjacent to the outdoor swimming pool. Three young kids frolic in the water just inches from her. They are on vacation. She is not.
She just stares off into space, clutching her cell phone, waiting for our next call. I'm watching her from a second-floor landing. She doesn't know it because I'm crouched around a corner. The mood is tense, taut and frankly, depressing. I have a 16-year-old daughter safe and snug at home as I huddle in the night watching this girl. How did she get here?