This shows why you should pick up and move to Puerto Rico like De la Hoya
This shows why you should pick up and move to Puerto Rico like De la Hoya
Listen up, kiddos. You may live in safer places, but it's never bad to know that this kind of thing happens.
It was never a kidnapping at all.
It was all "virtual." In other words, they never had my father... and they never had me.
It all starts with me.
At about five PM, when I with my mom at the store complaining about China-made goods, , my father received a call to his private line in his office at the university. Same place as my mom, only he works at the administrative branch.
"We have your daughetr," they say, and he immediately hears a woman - me, in fact - saying "Dad, dad, help me! They got into my car!!"
Of course, that's not me. It's probably a woman they have who imitated my voice. How? Was I under surveillance, or just luck?
I want to believe it is just luck.
Well, needless to say, dad jumps out of his office, gets into one of the university cars and does everything they say.
They tell him that he's about to speak with "me," but that if he says anything but thigs aling the lines of "I'm safe, you have to stay calm," they'll kill me. So he obeys.
About six o'clock mom and I get back. The phone is ringing.
"Why isn't anybody answering?" mom complains, "Is nobody home? See if you can answer."
I do. A strange voice asks who I am, I foolishly tell them. They ask for my mom, and this is how she told me the conversation went:
"We have yous husband. Where are you?"
"I'm - I'm at home."
"Who are you with?"
"The... maid." (the "maid," of course, was me)
"And who else?!"
"My daughetr."
"What is her name."
Confused, my mother told them my name, my (fake) age and refused to give more information. But that was enough: now they called my dad's cellphone and were able to tell him my name.
They asked my mom for her cellphone and called her there, telling her not to end the call - never.She obeys and goes on to fetch everything they want - the papers for her care, her jewels (she didn't gave them mine, nor her most expensive ones. Go mom!) and her credit card.
And then off she went - to save dad.
Meanwhile, dad thought I was the kidnapped one. Somehow, both he and mom had convinced the kidnappers that we are extremely poor, so they only made him buy a lot of jewlery and leave it at a certain place.
He never spoke with "me" again.
They wanted the car he was riding, too, but that belongs to the university, so he couldn't give them the papers. And he also gave them what money he could find.
After making them run around the city, promising each other that they would find the victim and untie him/her by themselves, at around eleven o'clock they "end" the whole thing and tell my mom to call my dad's mobile.
"Are you okay?" she asks, in what I can only imagine is last-moment hysterics.
"I'm fine," he says, and then, "Where is WD? Is she home?" well, dad asked for my name, of course, but I'm paranoid enough not to put it in the internet... sorry!
"Of course she's home!" exclaims mom, "She's been there the whole afternoon!"
Now you can imagine. How many times was I dead in dad's thoughts? How many times did he think he wouldn't be able to save me?
How many times did I think I wouldn't see him again? How many times did I worry they'd kill him?
It was all fake. They never had him, they never had me. They just scared us.
Now you see, why we were so lucky. None of us were really in danger, in real danger. But it's all the more infuriating, in some sense. And all I can think is, poor daddy, running around the city, thinking I was locked in some dark room.
I was at home. I had my brother to help me. We watched The Simpsons, we studided, we played with the dog, we tried to distract each other.
It helps. You are never really distracted - you run to the window every time you hear a car, you run to the phone as soon as it rings. But it helps not to be alone. Poor daddy.
At home now, there's talk of leaving the city, but I don't think it'll continue. We have nowhere else to go.
There's talk of sending me to study abroad - my brother, too, but he refuses, since he is already starting to work at a customs company. Me, if I have the chance, of course I'll take it.
For the moment, we're all getting extra mobiles. The cheap kind. We'll never use them except in emergencies - if it rings, you have to answer it, doesn't matter where are you. Because half of this virtual kidnapping is that mom and dad were forced to keep the call going, no matter what. If dad had had an extra mobile, he could've called me and checked whether I was safe or not. Same for mom.
"A lighting-bolt doesn't hit the same place twice," we say in Mexico. Might be stupid to believe that, but I guess that's how we keep on going. Who knows what will happen.
I thank you all again for the messages. They many not help in the practical sense, but it did a whole good reading them. Thanks, really, thanks!
note to self... do not move to mexico with girlfriend.
still good to know everything is ok... i can see that in some ways it really would make you mad instead of scared\worried.... hope things get better.
I turned red in the face after reading your first post yesterday. I'm really glad things turned out well. I can only imagine how worried you must of been yesterday, no, how worried your dad must of been.
Glad things turned out relatively Ok. =)
I maybe a psychotic in my own right, but these 'kidnappers' go far beyond me. I'm sorry for all the trouble that you guys have been going through, and hope that you can somehow recuperate from this harrowing experience.
Now 99% disease free!
hijos de p.... errr... never mind that one...
so now they are using this kind of virtual kidnaping... *sigh*
Im glad your family is ok... and good idea with extra phones... buy those small cheap ones that can be hidden easily or something...
Come to ontario, canada...you can study at mcmaster university with me (ranked one of the top 100 universities in the world). Plus theres arcness, joker, deadfire and kitkat here tooOriginally Posted by Winged Dancer
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WD, you have no idea how relieved I am that you and your family are safe. As has been said before, you are truly one of the most fantastic people here, and you shouldn't have to go through this kind of crap.
Except that Assassin is anti-social and never comes to my pie and anime parties!
On a serious note though, has your family talked about emigration? It's fairly easy to immigrate to Canada, and I'm pretty sure your parents would qualify as skilled workers under the immigration laws. We have the highest per capita immigration rate in the world, and a lot of really good programs designed to help new immigrants get settled in. Not to mention fairly low crime, a police force that does their jobs, and free health care. There are likely lots of good countries that you could emigrate to, but I'm biased towards Canada :P
No matter what, if there's anything I can do to help out, let me know. I want you guys to be safe.
Good to hear your dad is safe.
I am happy that it was not a real kidnapping and that you and your family are safe.
If I was you and your family, I would emigrate to a safer country. If you can afford to emigrate, you should. Who knows if next time it will be a real kidnapping.
I found the site for immigration that KitKat was talking about. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/faq/immigrating-5.html
Canada? But nothing ever happens in Canada! </usual Mexican>
Well, everything is over now and we've started taking measures... we talked to a few specialists and all, so now life goes on. With one less car. We try to see the bright side of it.
And Canada is definitely an option, either Canada or the United Kingdom, actually. I lived one month and a half in California and that was all I could take, though I'm not sure why. We're not looking for emmigration, or at least not now... my bro and I will leave the country, as soon as we finish college, and not simply because of this whole business.
My bro has to mind customs with a cousin in China. Me, I don't want to teach English for the rest of my life, so I need to go to a country where writing pays off at least enough to eat... so right now I need to find colleges that take under-graduate international students, which is not as easy as it might sound.
I'll definitely checkout the links you guys provided ^^ Thanks!
UK would be a good bet for that. I'm pretty sure the University of London (Umbrella organisation for most Uni's in London) accept international credits etc on to their own degree programs.
I'm glad I'm poor.
Kidnappers, thieves and extorsionists don't care if you are poor.
Well, i dunno how it works in the US, but in canada (or atleast ontario) the uni's are full of international students. Nearly all my TA's are international students from the mideast and whatnot. And there're lots (and i mean lots) of asian students who've come here to do thier undergrad.
between teh UK and canada, i'd go with canada...not just cuz im biased towards canada. We have healthcare, and its alot cheaper to live here, compared to london or something.
If you ever need info about unis or whatever, lemme know, i'll be happy to do what i can.
Ditto to everything Assassin said, but in regards to Australia.
I think I know precisely what I mean
when I say it's a schpadoinkle day
The US has a fairly wide-open student visa, I seem to remember it being "F1" or something like that. Apparently they can only be issued/renewed by US embassies and consulates in foreign countries, which is slightly odd.
Several of my coworkers came into the US and studied on F1 visas, got degrees, then started through the H1B process to stay in the US while in the greencard process. US immigration right now is a nightmare, especially if you're coming from a country that a lot of people come from (like China, India, or Mexico), but getting a student visa is still fairly easy.
Dont know if you understand spanish but here goes Que bueno que to papa esta bien! Te mando buena suerte...
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