We were driven for what seemed like an hour. Some of it in stop and go traffic. Some of the women were crying. The moaner continued. I remember thinking there were people not ten feet away, sitting in their cars, that would be horrified if they could see inside this truck. If they only knew what situation we were in they would stop the truck and help us in some way. As soon as I thought this, I knew that they would not help us. They would see us and be scared for themselves. They would tell themselves it was not their problem, and if they questioned it or got involved, they would end up just like us. No one would risk that. I would not risk that. Not if I was outside in a car peering into this truck. I wondered how many trucks full of people I had been next to.
The motion stopped. After a few minutes of commotion outside, everything became unstable like we were being lifted into the air. Some women gasped and couple more more started crying. I could feel the shipping container swaying slightly the air. There were whispers, like prayers. Then there was a quiet stillness. Everyone inside was trying to hear something, anything that would tell us what was happening.
Suddenly, there was a jolt and all motion stopped. The silence continued as if by being quiet our kidnappers might forget about us.
I assumed that we might be on a boat or another truck. I could not imagine why we would be taken at customs and locked into a shipping container for some other destination. I knew it was not good, and it certainly was not for our benefit.
I think we might have been gassed. I remember feeling very strange, quite suddenly, then I felt tired. I lost all sense of time. I could not tell how long we had been like this. The only time was now, the darkness and restraint. I could smell the other people. No one spoke. Suddenly I started to feel calm and drowsy. I worried less about what was happening to us and dozed off a bit. The bench was angled back slightly and there were dividers between us so we were supported in our sitting position. I rested my head against the divider.
I know now that we must have been drugged. When I woke up everything was still and silent. It was noticeably hot in the container. I felt like I needed a shower. Might right arm was sore from a needle, like I’d been in the hospital. My crotch was sore, and my underwear was gone. I thought I had been raped. Later, I thought, maybe it was from a catheter. We may have been in that container for days. I suspect now that we were gassed, put on IV to keep us alive during shipping.
we all started to wake up. I could here the other women moving and asking what had happened.
The doors were opened and we were escorted out, one by one. The black bags remained on our heads. I was guided by someone rather forceful that grabbed me by my arm and lead me out. I felt a breeze. Occasionally someone gave me directions like wait here or sit. The air was warm, and smelt like the sea. I could hear sea birds in the distance.