Posts
I never thought I would go back to writing on this blog, but this week´s events gave me no choice. Facebook has strict limits on posting lengths and this story cannot be told in 420 characters or less. I only ask that you read this post in it´s entirety, and I apologize in advance for taking up so much of your time. This is a very urgent and important matter with a limited time frame to act.
Wednesday night was supposed to be my evening off, but I got a call to go across town and do a show with a band I had performed with many times before. I accepted reluctantly, and made my way across town. I was greeted by the usual crowd and settled in for an hour of the ¨same old same old¨. About three songs into the set, I noticed two Thai guys with cameras taking pictures of the band. I got nervous and alerted the guitar player. We decided to take a break and see what was up. The two Thai guys flashed badges and identified themselves as ¨immigration officers¨. Whithin moments, the venue filled up with uniformed officers and we were all asked to sit down for questioning.
They began asking for visas, passports and work permits, and I knew immediately that there was going to be trouble. After some on site questioning and interrogation of the band and restaurant staff, we were all arrested and hauled to the local immigration office. The officers were drinking heavily and obviously quite proud of their catch. They began very intensive interrogation and started the ¨good cop bad cop¨ routine. There were about 10 of them sharing a bottle of whiskey and taking turns at us. My heart was beating out of my chest, but I did my best to stay cool.
After doing their best to scare the living daylights out of us, the mention of a payoff or bribe was made. This wasn´t surprising, and is pretty much standard practice. The grand total that they asked for was 120,000 Thai Baht (about $4,000 US dollars). Now, keep in mind that I earn about 6,000 Thai Baht a month (about $200 US dollars). This of course was an astronomical amount for any of us, and even calling in a few favors would not even get me close to that amount. I knew that the next stop might just be my last for a very long time.
Once again, the immigration officers (probably bordering on too drunk to drive) loaded us up in the backs of trucks and delivered us to the big police station in the old city. I was booked in, fingerprinted, and shown my new living quarters. The first thing to hit me when entering the actual jail was the overpowering stench of feces, urine, and who knows what else. The jail itself consists of four cells approximately 20 feet by 15 feet each. In these four cells they house somewhere near 200 inmates, and I am now one of them. Each cell is nothing but an empty barred room with one hole in the corner for use as a toilet. No windows, no fans, no beds, no shower, just a concrete floor surrounded by steel bars.
The second thing to shock me was that my cellmates ranged in age from one year olds to 70 year olds. Entire families were being held there from many different countries. Mothers, fathers, children and even infants. There I was lying on my back in this hellhole looking up at 5 and 6 year old kids playing and climbing around on the bars like it was just another day. I remember looking through the bars of my cell at a toddler wearing nothing more than a tshirt crying and reaching out for his father in the next cell. One of the families I got to know a little bit was North Korean. They escaped North Korea and traveled all the way through communist China and Laos in the hopes of making it to Thailand because once arrested in Thailand they can choose to defect to South Korea and reunite with loved ones there on the friendly side of the DMZ. An incredible journey in itself.
It was on day two that the 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit just north of here in Burma and sent the whole country shaking all the way as far as Bangkok. There I was, the whole jail was moving and shaking, lights flickering, babies crying, dust and concrete flying through the air and the guards had pretty much abandoned the place in fear that it might collapse. A truly terrifying experience, but we all survived and stuck together till it was over.
By the third day of my incarceration, I had pretty much come to grips with the fact that this was going to be my life for the next few years. It wasn´t pretty, but I was going to have to accept it. I had been watching the guards round up prisoners all day and ship them out shackled together about six at a time. I wasn´t sure where they were going, but I assumed it was the big prison outside of town near the mountain. Soon enough, it was my turn and I submitted my wrists and ankles once again to the chain gang style march. As we passed the lobby of the police station I saw several friends of mine waiting there. I tried to pause and say hello, but the guard kept yelling ¨Bah bah bah¨ (go go go). Myself and the six burmese guys I was chained to were loaded into the back of a truck and I saw one of the sargeants come running out front yelling ¨My My Dio Dio Falang!!¨ (no no wait wait foreigner). The guard looked at me with a grin and said ¨Falang Chok dee mak!¨ which basically means ¨Foreigner very lucky¨. It seems my local Thai friends had been there at the police station night and day trying to negotiate a bail agreement for me and were close to working something out. I was unshackled from the truck and marched back inside to the overcrowded cell. Suddenly it wasn so bad considering where I had been headed a few moments before.
A few hours later I was released under the supervision of my Thai friends. I went home, took a very long shower, ate some rice and veggies, and slept for about three hours. This is where my story comes current. At the moment I am a free man and can walk the streets, but I must present myself and my case in front of a judge in Thai court on April 4th. That gives me less than one week to prepare, find my options, make decisons and hopefully keep myself alive.
My official charges are as follows:
Wednesday night was supposed to be my evening off, but I got a call to go across town and do a show with a band I had performed with many times before. I accepted reluctantly, and made my way across town. I was greeted by the usual crowd and settled in for an hour of the ¨same old same old¨. About three songs into the set, I noticed two Thai guys with cameras taking pictures of the band. I got nervous and alerted the guitar player. We decided to take a break and see what was up. The two Thai guys flashed badges and identified themselves as ¨immigration officers¨. Whithin moments, the venue filled up with uniformed officers and we were all asked to sit down for questioning.
They began asking for visas, passports and work permits, and I knew immediately that there was going to be trouble. After some on site questioning and interrogation of the band and restaurant staff, we were all arrested and hauled to the local immigration office. The officers were drinking heavily and obviously quite proud of their catch. They began very intensive interrogation and started the ¨good cop bad cop¨ routine. There were about 10 of them sharing a bottle of whiskey and taking turns at us. My heart was beating out of my chest, but I did my best to stay cool.
After doing their best to scare the living daylights out of us, the mention of a payoff or bribe was made. This wasn´t surprising, and is pretty much standard practice. The grand total that they asked for was 120,000 Thai Baht (about $4,000 US dollars). Now, keep in mind that I earn about 6,000 Thai Baht a month (about $200 US dollars). This of course was an astronomical amount for any of us, and even calling in a few favors would not even get me close to that amount. I knew that the next stop might just be my last for a very long time.
Once again, the immigration officers (probably bordering on too drunk to drive) loaded us up in the backs of trucks and delivered us to the big police station in the old city. I was booked in, fingerprinted, and shown my new living quarters. The first thing to hit me when entering the actual jail was the overpowering stench of feces, urine, and who knows what else. The jail itself consists of four cells approximately 20 feet by 15 feet each. In these four cells they house somewhere near 200 inmates, and I am now one of them. Each cell is nothing but an empty barred room with one hole in the corner for use as a toilet. No windows, no fans, no beds, no shower, just a concrete floor surrounded by steel bars.
The second thing to shock me was that my cellmates ranged in age from one year olds to 70 year olds. Entire families were being held there from many different countries. Mothers, fathers, children and even infants. There I was lying on my back in this hellhole looking up at 5 and 6 year old kids playing and climbing around on the bars like it was just another day. I remember looking through the bars of my cell at a toddler wearing nothing more than a tshirt crying and reaching out for his father in the next cell. One of the families I got to know a little bit was North Korean. They escaped North Korea and traveled all the way through communist China and Laos in the hopes of making it to Thailand because once arrested in Thailand they can choose to defect to South Korea and reunite with loved ones there on the friendly side of the DMZ. An incredible journey in itself.
It was on day two that the 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit just north of here in Burma and sent the whole country shaking all the way as far as Bangkok. There I was, the whole jail was moving and shaking, lights flickering, babies crying, dust and concrete flying through the air and the guards had pretty much abandoned the place in fear that it might collapse. A truly terrifying experience, but we all survived and stuck together till it was over.
By the third day of my incarceration, I had pretty much come to grips with the fact that this was going to be my life for the next few years. It wasn´t pretty, but I was going to have to accept it. I had been watching the guards round up prisoners all day and ship them out shackled together about six at a time. I wasn´t sure where they were going, but I assumed it was the big prison outside of town near the mountain. Soon enough, it was my turn and I submitted my wrists and ankles once again to the chain gang style march. As we passed the lobby of the police station I saw several friends of mine waiting there. I tried to pause and say hello, but the guard kept yelling ¨Bah bah bah¨ (go go go). Myself and the six burmese guys I was chained to were loaded into the back of a truck and I saw one of the sargeants come running out front yelling ¨My My Dio Dio Falang!!¨ (no no wait wait foreigner). The guard looked at me with a grin and said ¨Falang Chok dee mak!¨ which basically means ¨Foreigner very lucky¨. It seems my local Thai friends had been there at the police station night and day trying to negotiate a bail agreement for me and were close to working something out. I was unshackled from the truck and marched back inside to the overcrowded cell. Suddenly it wasn so bad considering where I had been headed a few moments before.
A few hours later I was released under the supervision of my Thai friends. I went home, took a very long shower, ate some rice and veggies, and slept for about three hours. This is where my story comes current. At the moment I am a free man and can walk the streets, but I must present myself and my case in front of a judge in Thai court on April 4th. That gives me less than one week to prepare, find my options, make decisons and hopefully keep myself alive.
My official charges are as follows:
- Entering the country illegally. (charges already dropped once my passport was located)
- Overstaying my visa. (guilty as charged, and I have already entered a guilty plea)
- Working (playing a guitar) without a permit. (I have entered a not guilty plea. The evidence is very poor against me as I was not even being paid. Just helping out a friend who was short a bass player) I hear now that this charge may already have been dropped, but I´m not sure.
What I need from you my freinds and family is first and foremost your support in the coming days. If nothing else, pass this article along to as many other people as you can. The more people I can get behind me the better off I will be. I´m not sure what other help I will need, but the next day or so should reveal more as I get more information and advice. I thank you for taking the time to read this all the way through, and I will be posting more updates soon. The more people that are aware of my situation will ensure that I receive fair and just treatment here in this far away plae that has become my home, so please please please pass it on!! The worst that can happen is that this blog and my facebook page goes silent. If it does, then expect the worse. I will do my best to answer all emails and keep people in the loop.
All the best and thank you so much for everything.
Matt
All the best and thank you so much for everything.
Matt
I will pray for you brother, for the best plan that God has for you. Keep your faith. We will be here to support you all the way.I will share this to my friends. God Bless You.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the support and encouragment. It really means alot!!!
ReplyDeletePraying now Matt...cry out to Jesus, He is the only one who can set you free...bars or not.
ReplyDelete