The absolute Bellydance Hell !!!!

Maria_Aya

New member
Hi mates.
This story is exactly what happened to 2 greek bellydancers and friends of mind and students the last couple of days.

Sunday:
They phone me that they got an offer for job at Cyprus, at Pafos area, so they are leaving and canceling the lessons we had for the next 3 weeks.
I ask them: Do you know the place you are gonna go and dance? What is the name of it? Where are you gonna stay? under what conditions? etc.
They failed to anwser me in all: a) they didnt knew the name of the place, they only knew that they will dance at a Club, and with all expenses payed they are gonna take 3.600 euro each for 20 days work.
Damn, the city Pafos was already worrying, since I know the place and there are nummerus strip-clubs, anyway told them NOT to give their passports to anyone, and be vary carefull. In any case, i have a good family friend at Pafos and he could help them.
We met on Monday to say goodbuy etc and asked them more but couldnt answer again :(
Yesterday, Thusday they took the plane, 1,5 hour flight to Pafos.
1.40 midnight they call me !!!!!!!!!!
When they arrived at the airport the "manager" took them and went to a hotel, where they were LOCKED in the same room with 4 more russian girls (the russians without passports!!!), at 12 they leaded them to the "Club" ofcourse it was a strip club.
Now I have to clear this:
Strip-club at Cyprus mean, the girls go and sit with the customers while they drink, and they have to follow them after !!!!!!!!!!! at their hotel !!!
At 1.40 anyway they escaped, and went to the Fire - Station, they spent their night there !!! at morning my friend went and took them from there, had a huge fight with the owner of the club, took their things and left for the airport which wasnt the local, because they didnt had plane to Athens today, but the Larnaca one 200 km away from Pafos.
They have to pay their ticket back with own money, and thank God my friend had day off and drove them to Larnaca, cause in Cyprus, buses are a luxury, and the taxi wanted 250 $ !!!!!!!!!!
Now they are in the plane coming back.
I'm gonna see them tonight and trust me, i'm gonna kick them BOTH.
And after hug and cry.

In anycase and this is a good ending story
Girls be VERY CAREFULL when making contracts aboard for dance!!!

Maria Aya
 

Moon

New member
OMG Maria Aya that is awful!!!!
I hope they are all ok now. And they are very lucky to know you and your friend came to help them. I don't want to think of what could have happened.
This is a very good example to illustrate that you indeed have to be very carefull when making contracts. I hope they think about it next time they make a contract.
 

Safran

New member
Gosh, this is a horrible story. I am glad it ended well though! It was good they let you know about their plans - even if they didn't listen to your warnings, you were still more-or-less aware where they were and could help them. This is why I appreciate the dance community so much - we share stories and warn each other about scams...
 

Michelle

New member
Maria, I feel terrible that your friends had to go through this. I know most of you ladies have been dancing pro for a while and you know the ropes already. But let this be a lesson in caution to some of the younger, newer dancers out there. This is a good example of why checking and verifying all the information you are given is never redundant. Check, Check and Re-check everything, girls! If there is something that you are not clear about, don't be afraid to be a pain in the ass and ask again. This kind of thing can happen anywhere! Luckily, Maria's friends were not hurt physically in this ordeal.....:(
 

Demelza

New member
Sorry to hear that Maria, a similar thing happened to a friend of mine once in Turkey. Glad to hear that they are ok. It'll be a good lesson for them !!
Demelza x
 

Mouse

New member
OMG! What a horrible, terrifying ordeal. They are so lucky they managed to get out!
 

chryssanthi sahar

New member
Goodness:eek: How one can be so stupid and go to a place abroad without having any information about the place and the contractor? They were really very lucky, that you could help them through your friend down there. At least, they told you about their plans. But did your friend inform the police about those criminal guys? What about the poor Russian girls who were locked in the hotel room? The police must be informed about this case.:mad:
 

Maria_Aya

New member
Dear Chryssanthi and all.
Trafficing (i think this is the term for selling/rending women for various reasons) IS one of the major European Union problems since the fall of Russia:( and the other east communist countries.
Over 100.000 women live in Europe under these conditions and they are lucky if they go back home after 2 year, of "hard work".
About Pafos, to get how much the dirtyness goes.
Pafos is a small city with permanent people living not over 10.000 people on winter time, and over 50.000 at summer (high touristic area). An ancient city with 3.000 years history, even the historical birth place for Goddess Aphrodite.
Now in such a small place OF COURSE the police knows !!!! but hey ;)

Yes they were lucky, but also they were very good tricked, after i got the details.
Actually the manager of the place was here and met her, and she was a modest old fashioned woman around 50. So they felt her like a mother image. So this means that it was in the trick, to make anyone that accept trust her.

Anyway they are back, and today we have a 4 hour punishment with tabla teqnics lol

Maria Aya
 

Mariyam

New member
I am shocked :eek: and awed :eek: at their story, Maria :eek:

Thank goodness your friend could help them out, I don't want to think what might have happend....... :(
 

Maria_Aya

New member
What could happen is what happens to the other of the 1.000 russian girls that are trapped there:
Holding their passports, living in a hotel room 6 together, locked all day, going night at the "Club", leaving with customers for a quick one, and after back to hotel !!!
Now the shocking part is that these 2 girls are citizens of United Europe, which means that the things are going uncontroled and we all must be very carefull.

Maria Aya
 

Lydia

New member
the absolute bellydance hell

Hi Maria,it is terrible that this is still happening ,it has not changed sindts i started dancing so many years ago,I posted a very long message on medance list about the same subject...perhaps we can think about a systeem in the dance community triyng to protect eachother,like contact a dancer in that area to give info about the club in question...i do that for dancers that come to dubai and are new here or new in this business,i give them info about good and bad in this place what is going on.....i am lucky with my girls they listen when i say NO you can not go there and the trust my judgement...But for some girls it is a difficult problem because plenty girls come from poor country,s and realy need the money and see it as a big change,so it is difficult for them to say no.....It happens a lot all over the world Also the problem is new be,s do not have to proper info,it is not avaliable beside asking you teacher where to go? there are to many clubs and agents enz.promising and ending up beiing cheaters....dancers have to wake up,it is not all roses, i mailed last week a dancer from the list about another problem that we have is this...i helped plenty dancers that have trouble,s simmilair to what you mention above...foreign dancers coming to the middle east and ending up in trouble.Than when they go back home ,i read in ther webside,s that they came here and worked here and beeing big stars enz. And i know that half of it is just fabricated story,s telling that the places they perform was so great and( i know the places are verry low class clubs like the one you just mention) and that they left sometimes without salaris from months or forced to stay with man enz...and stil i read that in the webside i am a big star in Egypt or Dubai ....I asked this girls why do you write that ? after all you bin treu ? they say it is good for my future, people think that if i have performed succesfully in those country,s that i am realy a good dancer.BUt in the mean time other artist are reading this and think cool if she can do it why not me ....And they take risks of coming and going to places they know nothing about....Please for all that read the above mail from Maria remember this story this girls have been lucky to have friends it could be much wors.....Make sure you know what the place is about...many clubs dont care about how you dance they just want pretty girls to do do whatever brings money for the club owner ...Please be aware! Lydia
 

Maria_Aya

New member
Thanks Lydia :)
And have also to say a BIG thank you to Lydia, that helped a certain Greece dancer last year, that wanted to work at Dubai (yes Lydia I gave your adress to that one :) ).
So yes what Lydia proposed is a good idea.
Contact the dancers that already exist in the area.
Some dancers were saying to me, yeah right the local dancers will be jealous bla bla, but till now from personal experience, all the times i spoke with local dancers for info for a student/new dancer they always really honestly helped :D

Maybe we can have a "safe list" with dancers/teachers from each area?

Maria Aya
 

Lydia

New member
the absolute bellydance hell

Your welcome Maria ...Yes i know what you mean when people will say o other local dancer wil be jalouse and dont want new dancers around,but if you look for good establised dancers that have been around for some time it might work ....but i wil be the first one for the safe list idea that is for sure...Have a great weekend,whit lots of dancing Lydia
 

Safran

New member
Maybe we can have a "safe list" with dancers/teachers from each area?

Maria Aya

Maria, that is a brilliant idea! And when the list is more or less together, we have to do our best to spread it around... Because not all girls are lucky enough to have found this brilliant forum or any other way to communicate with the dancing community abroad!
 

Aaeesha

New member
What an awful story! Thy are *so* lucky to be ok! That's just another reason to stress personal safety and caution. Yikes. :(
 

chryssanthi sahar

New member
I also agree, that the "safe list" is a great idea! And that we should try to spread it in many forums. On the other hand, many of those girls who are naive enough to believe that they can go to another country any time and they will make a wonderful belly dance career just like this, usually don't participate forums and don't really get informed about what's going on. Most of them are just dreamers and have unrealistic goals. They don't even have a realistic estimation of their own abilities and skills and of what it means to be a professional belly dancer. So I wonder how we can reach this kind of chicks in order to warn them about what could happen to them, if they are not careful. Any ideas?
By the way Maria, how did your students get this offer at all? Did they get contacted by the "club", or did they contact the "club"? Can you tell more about this procedure, so that people here in forum get a better idea about how those suspect clubs operate?
 

Ludmilla

New member
Ahy, Maria -- Thank goodness they're safe!!

What an amazing story-- I'm so glad they are back safe and probably will never repeat this again. THanks for letting everyone know about this - it can't hurt to be reminded about such things, anywhere, anytime -- Please give them a hug for me (after those 6,000 shimmies, was it?) -- LOL - Ludy
 

Safran

New member
So I wonder how we can reach this kind of chicks in order to warn them about what could happen to them, if they are not careful. Any ideas?

Well, we can't reach them all, but we can at least make an attempt. We can post it on the website here and then advertise it in the other discussion forums. Maybe our IT wizard Anatoly can come up with a brilliant idea how to make this list easier to find over internet (search engines). We have a good amount of countries represented right here on the forum - we can all contact the dance studios and teachers in our area to spread the word and the list. There are also respective NGOs and state institutions dealing with the topis of labour abroad, trafficing etc we can get in touch with.

Ok, it might sound something extremely complicated and big-scale, but it isn't really. If we all chip in a bit with our effort. We just need to get the word go around... Don't know... I think it would help to some extent...

Maariku
 

Maria_Aya

New member
Dear Chryssanthi and mates:)
The whole thing was very well planed.
And here I must kick a special greek manager also (she is a WOMAN!!!).
In Athens exist around 10 managers/agent officies for dance in general, bellydance, free style, clubs, etc.
I dont know them all, but from what I've heard and what I see happening, none of them are caring about the artistic part of the dance.
So one of these women managers contacted the 2 dancers (they are both teachers also, meaning they are not new in this) and told them that a manager from Cyprus is coming to Athens to select dancers for a contract in Cyprus. So the girls met the manager from Pafos, from what they said she was like 55 years old, old lady style, business women, they had a huge conversation on the costumes, on the make up, hair, the hours they will work, the contitions of the appartment they would stay in etc. She gave them money before and also booked and payed for them the tickets to go to Cyprus. Now for me when i spoke to them the first problem was that the "manager" didnt mentioned the name of the club !!! I asked why and they said that when they asked, she said that there were some and she was not sure in which one they would be at !!! This is not an answer from a manager!!!
Anywa, now i know more details, from the min the Mafia Guys picked them from the airport till the last min where the Fire Men helped them, and my friend etc, and I'm really glad they are back.
Both of them are in shock, but more the one that she is locked in her house and crying for days, she cant believe that this happened to her, stories that she have heard came real. The other one that owns also a dance school, gave me the keys of the school and said that till she is ok, she dont wanna do anything with dance, she need vacations.
What was the shocking is not that things like these exist but that it happened to them.
Nothing is ideal even in Greece but it is cleared from the begining.
When a dancer goes to a place to dance the boss/manager speak clear.
a) 20 min dance + 20 min dance, from 1 am to 3 am, from 30 - 100 euro.
b) 20 min dance + 20 min dance, from 1 am to 4 am, and customers open champains to the dancers, 100 - 150 euro.
c) 20 min dance + 20 min dance, from 1 am to 5 am, and dancers go and sit at the tables, 150 - 250 euro.
d) the c situation, plus the dancer can follow the clients if she wants (money not specifying)
e) Hating all of these and not dancing to places lol

So at least its clear, and we know which places do what

Maria Aya

p.s. ofcourse Restaurants is another story, weddings, theatre, parties etc, there the things go more on the dance part and can be really a nice surprise :)
 
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miss_shimmy

New member
so sorry

Maria,you were so very right to be over cautious,thankx so much for sharing that story,I pray your friends return safely,please kick their butt from me,
you were so right to be cautious with them.

hugs


miss shimmy
xxxxxxxxxxx
 
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