Today I am hosting a blog tour stop. I would like to introduce you to author Junying Kirk:

Life of a Sex Slave on the Land of Hope/  Junying Kirk

Should I cry, or should I remain calm, as if nothing has happened?

Different thoughts are playing in my head, as I sit in my cold cell, so far away from my home, so foreign, so alone, and so unfair. All I did was try to make a living, and here I am, detained in a guilao police station whose name and location elude me, except for the knowledge that it is not London, but somewhere in the UK: the land of hope for people like me.

I am 20 years old, but really I just turned 19 a month ago according to the calculation of the Western calendar. When I left home in Changle, Southern China, I was barely 16.

 In my final book of Journey to the West trilogy, I have told the stories of a number of immigrants, and one of them is a young girl called Ah Fang, the only child to her parents back in China. In a hot summer day when out with her mates on the streets, a childish misadventure spelt the beginning of an unfortunate, tragic journey to the west of her own. Kidnapped, raped and subsequently trafficked by the snakeheads, her innocent and happy days ended in a fateful moment, her once carefree life took a shocking turn, pushing her into a dark, brutal world of sex slavery and merciless exploitation.

 In my latest career as a professional interpreter spanning over a decade, I have come across a number of young girls like Ah Fang. I have met them in Police detentions, in courts and in solicitor consultation rooms. I have even seen one or two, semi-naked and without modesty, in brothels when the Police raided them. I have heard of their tales of heartache and pain, their sorrow and their suffering. Hand on heart, who could help but being touched and saddened by such cruelty of fate and injustice of life?

 Here is another excerpt from Land of Hope, still in the voice of Ah Fang:

 For  the  men  who  ravaged  my  body  and  soul,  I  was  not  the  only  victim  of  their  heinous  crimes.  They   did  the  same  to  many  other  innocent  girls.  I  doubted  if  any  of  these  nasty  bastards  would  ever  be  brought  to  justice  by  the  laws  of  the  countries   we   had   travelled   through.   How   would   anyone   find   out   what   they   did   to   us,   or   would   they   even   care?   Even   if   they   did   get   caught,   would   any   of   their   victims   be   brave   enough   and   strong   enough   to   go   to   court   and   give   evidence   against   them?   No   way!   These   bastards   remain   nameless   and   faceless   even   to   us,   the   young   girls   and   women   they   have   abused   and   assaulted,   ravaged   and   ruined,   against   our   will.   Even  if  some  of  us  were  willing  to  speak  out,  who  in  the  real  world  would  represent  us,  the  weak,  the   poor,  the  underprivileged,  the  downtrodden,  and  worst  of  all,  the  invisible  and  illegal?  

   Over   time,   I   have   learnt   to   see   the   world   I   live   in.   For   the   majority   of   the   people   in   Western,   democratic  countries,  we  are  illegal  immigrants;;  although  not  exactly  untouchable,  we  drift  along  under   the   surface   and   remain   most   of   the   time   hidden   in   places   like   takeaway   kitchens   or   fruit-­packing   in   remote   areas.   We   are   like   shadows   in   the   dark,   ghosts   who   have   no   physical   form   in   the   real   world,   hence   are   insignificant.   Once   in   a   while,   we   cause   a   bit   of   stir   in   their   news   and   media,   when   their   politicians   want   votes   from   new   immigration   laws,   or   when   illegals   or   underworld   gangs   or   drug   dealers  committed  a  terrible  crime,  too  horrendous  to  be  swept  quietly  under  the  carpet.

 It is my unrelenting desire to reveal some of these dark, deep-rooted, sometimes unspeakable secrets and violence from one human being to another, bringing to surface the hidden lives of immigrants, young women and girls like Ah Fang. If you wish to find out more about Ah Fang’s heart-breaking tales, please check out Land of Hope.

Book Blurb: Junying Kirk completes her ‘Journey to the West’ trilogy with this inter-racial saga. A complex love story is interwoven through a tale of international crime, broken dreams, human trafficking and sexual exploitation. ‘Journey’ is just that, a merciless trek from the coast of Southern China to the drug farms in the heart of England, exposing worlds you never would have imagined exist.

Author Bio: Junying Kirk grew up in the turbulent times of the Cultural Revolution. A British Council scholarship led her to study English Language Teaching at a top English University in 1988, followed by further postgraduate degrees at Glasgow and Leeds. She has worked as an academic, administrator, researcher, teacher, cultural consultant and professional interpreter. She loves reading & writing books. Her ‘Journey to the West’ trilogy, The Same Moon,  Trials of Life and Land of Hope are available in digital format at  Amazon.UK,  Amazon.Com,  and Smashwords. The paperback will be published  in the near future.

 Please continue the tour and join Junying tomoorow at Eden Baylee’s fabulous site for further Author Spotlight.