Testimony

Over the past four months, the Thai military has used heightened restrictions and coercive tactics to pressure some 4,700 ethnic Lao Hmong refugees, who claim to have fled violence and persecution in Laos, to renounce their claims for protection and accept a forced return to Laos.

Paul had received some money. He was supposed to share it with us. When my aunt, my brother and I went to see him, he said he had only received 20,000 francs and he would give us 1,000 francs each. We said that was not enough. He said he couldn’t give us any more than that and told us to come with him to the place where the money was.

I went to the shop to buy toilet paper for my uncle and I noticed a guy staring at me. Then he came over and asked my name. I didn’t want to tell him my real name, so I said it was ‘Junior’. He asked where I lived and invited me to come to his house.

I live in Khayelitsha, a large township on the outskirts of Cape Town. I grew up in Eastern Cape with my parents and four older brothers.

I came back from school, I had lunch and was getting ready to go out again. My father offered me 150 francs to come to the bedroom with him. I said I didn’t want to go. But then he took me over to the bed by force and did bad things to me.

I was walking down the street and as I passed this one house, a man took me by force, dragged me inside and raped me. I didn’t know him, I had never seen him before.