Pedophile victims in Bali haunted by their dark past

"Buy me sir, buy me madam," shouted seven-year-old Wayan, while carrying a bamboo basket filled with sliced watermelon, pineapple and other kinds of fruit at Lovina beach near Singaraja, some 90 kilometers north of Denpasar.

Like other socially disadvantaged boys living near the popular beach, Wayan had to help his impoverished parents sell various goods, including cheap handicrafts, cloth, cigarettes and fresh fruit, just so his mother could stay at home to cook meals for the family.

After school was the happiest time for Wayan and his friends because they could roam the streets or swim at the beach.

One day, life took a different turn for Wayan, and it changed his young life forever.

While he was peddling his goods, Wayan noticed a kind Western man approach him. The man took his basket and bought all of Wayan's fruit. The aging, bald man, who Wayan would affectionately call David, asked him to come play with other children at his home near Lovina beach.

At David's cozy home, Wayan was surprised to find many toys, books, candies, cookies and other luxury items that he could never get at home.

"I thought Mr. David was a good and caring man. He loved us (the children) like his own sons," said Wayan. He said David frequently acted as a father to socially disadvantaged young boys and showered them with gifts and pocket money.

The boy said he was shocked one day when he turned nasty, asking him to touch and play with his private parts. "In the end, I got used to it and started to enjoy it," said Wayan, who has become a handsome 22-year-old prostitute.

Since then, Wayan became a part of a group of "sexual entertaining minors", an easy target for an international pedophile network that is reportedly preying on young people in several of the poorest areas of Bali.

"Sometimes I had wanted to run away from that community. But I was helpless. If I quit, I would never have any toys or money. That was the only reason I had at the time for hanging around with men who were my father's, or even my grandfather's, age," said Wayan.

Moving from David to other older men, Wayan found it hard to get away from that world. A school dropout, Wayan could do nothing else for work but continue his profession as a prostitute for older Western men.

"I was ashamed when my neighbors teased me," said Wayan.

Ketut, 18, also had a similar experience.

He met an Italian man, Mario, when he was 12. Coming from a dysfunctional family, Ketut found the parental affection he craved in Mario. After school, Ketut played with a dozen other children in front of Mario's room in a small hotel at Lovina beach.

Ketut was spoiled with expensive toys, which Mario brought from Thailand, another popular destination for pedophiles in Asia.

"Mario loved me more than the other kids. When he wanted me in his bed, he would whisper it tenderly. I was very touched by him," he said in a low and husky voice.

But Ketut really wanted to get out of that circle of older men. He felt relief when the Singaraja Police temporarily detained his friend. "Looking back on that time, I felt terribly sad and desperate, but it might have been too late for me to get out," said Ketut.

Putu, 24, told a bleak story. "I think I am now suffering from a serious traumatic sexual experience," he said.

Putu said he often felt ambiguous about his sexual orientation. "I often feel attracted to nice sweet girls, but many times I find that I enjoy homosexual relationships."

Putu frequently looks back on his childhood's sexual adventures with deep regret. "I was only seven years old when I met my 'adopted' fathers from Switzerland. I did not understand what was going on with me."

For more than 15 years, he said he was trapped in his "adopted" fathers' comfortable nests. "Only three years ago could I release myself from that entangled web of the pedophile world."

There was no happy ending for him. Putu said he had to endure neighborhood gossip as well as deal with his vulnerable physical and mental well-being. Putu said he is so insecure and ashamed of himself.

"Neighbors would frequently tell me: 'You are very lucky to have a rich Western man adopt you'," he said.

"I felt so down, especially when meeting people. I always thought they were mocking or teasing me for being what I was before," said Putu. Unlike other child victims of sexual abuse, Putu has been fortunate to receive treatment from a local clinic for his deep physical and emotional scars.

Only through victims' self-determination and support from their families and organizations can they hope to heal themselves so that they are able to go on with life.

The names of the boys mentioned in the articles have been changed to protect their privacy.

-- Aditya Nusantara and Magdalena Damayanti