Unfair Justice
Author: © Peter D Mack
Peter D Mack has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be indentified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction and entirely of the author’s own imagination. The names, characters and incidents portrayed are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
First published in Australia in 2012
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Mack, Peter D.
ISBN: 978-0-9874391-1-6
Dewey Number: A823.3
Published with the assistance of
www.loveofbooks.com.au
For Val, Joanne, David, Karen and the next generation Zakiah, Skyla, Oscar and Oscar’s brother who will be with us soon. My life is all the richer for having you all in it. Thank you
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Fourty
Chapter Fourty One
Chapter Fourty Two
Chapter Fourty Three
Chapter Fourty Four
Chapter Fourty Five
Chapter Fourty Six
Chapter Fourty Seven
Chapter Fourty Eight
Chapter Fourty Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty One
Chapter Fifty Two
Chapter Fifty Three
Chapter Fifty Four
Chapter Fifty Five
Chapter Fifty Six
Chapter Fifty Seven
Chapter Fifty Eight
Chapter Fifty Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty One
Chapter Sixty Two
Chapter Sixty Three
Chapter Sixty Four
Chapter Sixty Five
Chapter Sixty Six
Chapter Sixty Seven
Chapter Sixty Eight
Chapter Sixty Nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy One
Chapter Seventy Two
Chapter Seventy Three
Chapter Seventy Four
Chapter Seventy Five
Chapter Seventy Six
Chapter Seventy Seven
Chapter Seventy Eight
Chapter Seventy Nine
Chapter Eighty
Chapter Eighty One
Chapter Eighty Two
Chapter Eighty Three
Chapter Eighty Four
Chapter Eighty Five
Chapter Eighty Six
Chapter Eighty Seven
Chapter Eighty Eight
Chapter Eighty Nine
In a smart delightfully European hotel alongside the Moskva River in Moscow Anna Volskaya lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The dawn was preparing for another freezing assault on the city. The lights from the street one floor below sent an eerie weak orange reflection across the room highlighting like a filtered theatre spotlight a dilapidated print of some obscure landscape presumably somewhere in the Russian wilderness. Anna didn’t quite understand why she was here but somehow she felt different than at any other time in her life.
She didn’t have the educational resources to understand quite what the difference was. All she knew was that she and Magda were leaving the next morning and were going to Australia to begin a new life. Magda had told her that they were going to join her new husband in Sydney and would be staying at the luxury home he owned not far from Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Opera House was a ferry ride across the harbour. Magda had promised to take her to see a performance.
Anna wasn’t mentally or physically afflicted in any way she simply had just never been to school. She was very smart in a number of areas but the way of the world had eluded her upbringing and she simply didn’t have the basic mechanisms to provide for herself. She had minimum reading skills but no mathematical knowledge at all.
Anna had been born into a life that no one deserved. It was a life that had begun that way and never changed she knew no other options. Her father Josep was a legend in her mother Karina’s eyes and memory even though she had not seen him since she told him she was pregnant. He took her hand sat her down and told her of his everlasting love for her. He gently reached out and spreading his sausage like labourers fingers across her still flat stomach he promised to take care of the two of them. That he would always be at their side. He left for work the next morning and she has never seen him since. Anna’s mother always said that something had happened to him and if it were possible he would have been there with them. Her love for him had never waned and because of this she had never wavered in her belief in him and his fate.
The truth was that he walked outside the next morning went to his own apartment packed his bags and caught a train to Saint Petersburg. He still resided there and was the father of three other unfortunate children from three different women. He took no responsibility for any of them.
Anna’s mother had been mortified by her belief that Josep had been taken from her by the fates that he couldn’t control. She went into a downhill spiral of vodka, drugs, cigarettes, tears and torment. The only way she could provide for herself and Anna was eventually found to be by selling her body to all and sundry just barely allowing them to live a life of minimal subsistence. The drugs took over her life and there was nobody to look after Anna as she should have been. She too from the age of thirteen became a contributor to the family income and more importantly to aid in the supply of illicit drugs for her mothers worsening habit.
As her mother became more and more habituated Anna had learned to fend for herself in a limited way. There were few absolute certainties in Anna’s life. She knew that she needed to eat to stay strong, she needed to drink some liquid of some sort and she needed to sleep occasionally if she was to survive. She also knew deep down inside her that she needed to continue to have sex with as many men as she could to get enough money to provide food and shelter. Her mother had deteriorated to a pathetic shadow of her former self. When Anna was fifteen she came into the house to find her mother slumped on the floor of what could loosely be described as a kitchen with a knife wound in her heart and vomit, urine and other body fluids spreading with the blood across the room.
The word had gotten around and an old acquaintance of her mother’s found Anna walking the streets, in more ways than one and took her under her wing. Magda Spasky became Anna’s unofficial foster mother; she moved her into her apartment and they shared the bed where Magda and later Anna would continue to make their living. The difference was that Magda was a loving and caring person and even though Anna’s life had changed for the better she didn’t recognise it for what it was. She just felt different but couldn’t explain it perhaps because she had never experienced love and what joy it brought to the people involved.
Magda had tried to explain to Karina that Josep was a philandering pig and he was probably still alive somewhere living a life with some woman with two or three others on the side. Karina had always rejected this and their friendship became one of resentment and eventually distance. Magda was horrified at what was happening to Anna but each time she tried to intervene she was brutally shown the door by a rapidly growing violent, demented Karina.
By the time that Karina died Magda was ready to take care of Anna but she was too entrenched in her own life of men for money that she sadly just let the situation continue. She was most grateful for spotting Anna in the street after her mother died that she thought it to be a message from God. If she had been a few minutes late or Anna was in another street or even across the road they may have missed each other. The main difference was that now Anna’s life was lived in a decent apartment at least by Russian standards. There was a shower and flushing toilet albeit shared by two other families and the standard of her ‘customers’ changed for the better. Often Magda and Anna went on the same threesome date, the money was flowing by past comparisons and Magda was able to protect her from any of the violent or weird requirements of the men who regularly used their services.
Yes! Anna was considered to be a little slow but she had a nice face and this was over compensated for by the stunning body of a Venus de Milo an expression often used by her regulars. At the age of fifteen Anna was known as Venus. Since moving in with Magda Anna had been learning how to read and write and was making extraordinary progress. Magda’s limited English was passed on to her also in the hope that one day she would be able to use it. Between the two of them Magda and Anna decided that there was no reason to tell people that Anna was a very smart lady who just had a late start to her learning she was now expanding her education at a rapid pace. It could come in handy in the future although for what reason they couldn’t think. Maybe it was the Russian mindset playing games. Magda simply loved the idea of a warm night round the wood fire sipping Stolichnaya vodka with books of all types helping Anna to become the person she was originally destined never to be.
As she lay there in the early morning comfort of a warm bed and a strange room Anna looked lovingly across at Magda asleep in the bed next to hers. Magda was thirty six but was still a beautiful woman who at the moment didn’t have to try too hard to look after her best asset her voluptuous body. Magda Spasky had been a ‘working girl’ since the age of fourteen or fifteen but she had grown up in a small town just outside Pskov not far from the Estonian border in a loving family. When she was nine her father was killed in a road accident and her mother went of the rails for a while. After meeting a new man who quickly moved into their home Magda’s days at home were numbered. The new man abused her physically almost immediately. Even though she reported it to her mother she was dismissed as a spoilt child but was encouraged to take to the new man as he was now her father. Her mother was desperately trying to hang on to her new love and refused to believe a word of Magda’s frequent stories. In the end when she was fourteen the man inevitably raped her.
The next day Magda had risen from her bed, dressed, picked up a bottle of vodka from beside the couch where her stepfather still lay from lasts nights’ excess of alcohol, hands linked behind his head, a smug smile on his face. She smashed the bottle across the wooden arm showering him in glass and vodka. Before he could recover she placed the broken glass into his groin in a menacing way. She didn’t cut him, just held it there threatening to separate him from his manhood. “If you expect me to perform for you, you stinking animal then you must expect to pay for it.” She said in a calm and surprisingly controlled voice. Her small movement with the bottle made him stop dead still and inhale suddenly expecting the worst. Magda reached for his trousers lying on the floor and extracting his wallet she emptied it of all the money she could find before throwing the bottle against the wall above his head where it showered more glass onto the couch and over him. He would find it very difficult to move even one millimetre without the glass taking some revenge for Magda.
Magda then walked into her mother’s bedroom and said to her “You have never believed me when I’ve told you about this creature you love more than me. Well yesterday he raped me while you were at the store.” Her mother sat up becoming angry but Magda held up her hand as if to demand silence. When her mother closed her mouth in shock and frustration she said. “If you don’t believe me how would I know that piece of shit,” stabbing her index finger at the lounge room door “has a scar on his hip right next to that ‘worm’ he calls a dick. It is red and is very distinctive. Goodbye mother.” With that she walked out and has never seen her mother since.
Magda went to stay with a school friend and her parents and finally finished school. She didn’t tell them the reasons for her leaving home but they just put it down to ‘Huh! teenagers these days hey?’ shaking their heads knowingly. They liked Magda but didn’t like her mother so there was no problem settling her into their family life.
At that time in Russia the average school girl around thirteen or fourteen had decided that she would become a prostitute. Even though there were a few jobs around those that were available were of such disgusting performance requirements such as hand cleaning factory toilets, washing swill and innards from the abattoir and along with that the money was appalling. They each knew that they would make more money if they sold themselves.
Somehow the experiences with her mother’s lover had given her an idea that if he was so enamoured with her body then others would be too and they, unlike him would be willing to pay for it. Due to her amazing body and personality Magda had been a popular girl at school and had enjoyed sexual romps with two of the boys she had been to school with. Both were boy friends at the time and they too were infatuated with her body. She was not offering her body around school; the slow teenage love affairs were as normal as any but she was brewing ideas in her head.
There were no contraception pills, condoms or anything available to the females of pre Yeltsin days and the commonly known best form of birth control quite simply was abortion. The clinics were unsavoury, unhygienic and crowded facilities run by some shady government medical departments. The women who wished for a termination were herded into the ‘treatment’ room and sat outside a curtain behind which the work was carried out. As each woman hobbled out from behind the curtain the next in line shuffled in. Sterilisation and hygiene were things one read about in other countries but they weren’t considered a priority in Russia.
On the day she left school she caught a train to Moscow and began her business. Unfortunately for ladies of the night their careers are limited by physical restraints as indeed are sports men and women, dancers and models. She knew that she had limited time to take advantage of her assets and accumulate as much money as she could before gravity and other age related hindrances threatened to curb her career. Considering herself a professional she entered her new business with a verve that surprised even her. After a few weeks she had a regular clientele and had divided her life into work and home. She visited theatres, museums, art galleries and other educational and cultural establishments to enhance her life and to separate the two halves. She had met Anna’s mother during those early years and had formed a friendship at arms length as she didn’t believe Karina ran in her circles but she did become close to Anna and spent long hours with her as she grew up taking her to cultural visits and days out on the Moskva river and trips to the country and their favourite the Russian ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre.
During the late 1990’s and early 1991 Boris Yeltsin had been promoting a future for the Soviet Union that could only be improved by the abolition of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev after a long fight had suddenly found himself to be a President but with no country to run. His last hope was that the people would protest and rally towards him and this failed to eventuate. On Christmas day 1991 Gorbachev appeared on television to announce that the Soviet Union would soon cease to exist and that he was resigning his role as President.
Magda and thousands of others went to Red Square that night to become part of history by witnessing the lowering of the Hammer and Sickle flag from the Kremlin for the last time. By the time many of them arrived the flag was already gone and had been replaced by the Russian flag simply, three horizontal stripes of white, blue and red. The whole of the Russian community apart from a few die-hards rejoiced in the hope that Russia would soon be a vibrant and financially stable country and their lives would improve from then onwards.
It was during those celebrations that Magda had met a man, Igor Karpov and they had become a little more than buyer and seller. After a year he had decided to go to Australia and begin a new life and asked her to go with him. She thought about it but decided that now wasn’t the time but she would eventually be retiring and that would be the time to move somewhere else. Magda was a true Russian, she had belief in Yeltsin and her country and stayed behind in the hope that life would improve under the new regime and Russia would become a wonderful provider for her people. She did not wish to take her profession or even memories of it with her when she retired. She had always had visions of being somewhere in an upmarket situation like a gallery opening or at the opera and being accosted by an old client or someone from her past.
Unfortunately in the following two years after Yeltsin’s takeover the country was in a worse state that before the coup. Inflation was rampant and the value of the rouble was almost below parity with a stone that children kicked around the streets.
People were queuing up to exchange their roubles from pre 1933 as they were now useless. Yeltsin was allowing the populace to exchange 35,000 for real currencies and he later allowed that to become 100,000 roubles. Many people lost fortunes and their retirement funds virtually overnight. The only people who profited were the Russian Mafia and they pretty much ruled and regulated the currency exchange in the country. They also ruled the Government, police, lawyers, the airports, taxi drivers and pretty much everything else that generated money. There was even a case where the racketeers impounded the council garbage trucks until they received protection money of what was estimated to be millions of roubles.
During this time Magda realised that she had missed the boat with Igor and cried herself to sleep many times during that time since he’d asked her to go with him to Australia.
Magda still held a flame for Igor but hadn’t heard from him for years until that is two months ago when he quietly slipped back into her life. He had been in Australia for quite a few years and had built a substantial life for himself. He was considered by Australians to be a very wealthy man but by Soviet standards he was a multi millionaire. He admitted that he was not always walking on the right side of the law but had never been in trouble or even questioned by the police. He knew a lot of people in the pub, club and nightclub business and was always being asked if he knew where to get a consistent supply of girls for strip clubs, lap dance and nude clubs as well as girls who would ‘do the business’ for money. He did not reveal these last few details to Magda. The reason he was here he said was to see her and catch up on old times and to see if she was still doing what she was so very good at and to see if she wanted to now move to Australia with him and help him to set up and source the stock that people were seeking. Namely working in factories, dress manufacturers, cleaners in hotels, shop assistants and old folks carers. He didn’t tell her the real reasons. The difference for the girls would be that instead of living in crowded smelly and filthy conditions the girls would live a nice lifestyle in Australia. They would be able to live in their own homes, buy a car and live in a warm and friendly country. He showed her his tan lines by taking off this watch. The white band on his wrist was as stark as a painted line. He told her of the wonderful beaches and topless girls with no concerns about being in public. The wonderful friendly Australian people and the life he led now was as far away from his life in Russia that he was a Crown Prince by comparison. The photographs he showed her of his house, car and boat were stunning.
Magda could hardly take her eyes from them. She thought about her life and that of Anna and was sorely tempted but she had learned that anything that looks too good to be true probably is. Over the next few days she spent time with Igor catching up on the past for both of them and the word pictures he painted were like watching a sharply focussed and highly colourful movie.
She showed some interest when one day while out to lunch with Igor and Anna she told him “If! And I stress if! I do this it would be wonderful for the girls to leave their lives of ceaseless misery and sadness and introduce them to a wonderful life of freedom and happiness. There they may even find a man to settle down with who would look after them as they all so thoroughly deserved. But! I would not do this and leave here to do what you ask without Anna.” She reached across the table and wrapped her fingers in Anna’s as she looked for Igor’s response. He sat back and looked at Magda for so long in silence that she became a little unnerved. She was ready to go with Igor to this wonderful new life but would not go without Anna. If he didn’t agree then now that the seed was planted she would find a way by herself to do this and try to migrate to Australia as mother and daughter.
As he looked at her Igor thought that Magda was still a bewitching woman and he would be very happy to have her with him. He would not allow her to ‘work’ if he could help it but she could co ordinate all the girls that were needed and to help set up a continual supply from this part of the world. If she chose to have Venus with her the whole time then that would only be a bonus for him. He squeezed her hand and said “I had assumed that you would say that and since I have been here and gotten to know her I too would like Anna to come over as your daughter err dare I say ‘our’ daughter and to never again do the crap she has been subjected to her whole life.” Magda was silent for a few seconds before she broke down in tears and reached out for Igor’s hand. Igor reached across for Anna’s other hand the three of them sat there silently holding hands across the table while Magda’s tears cascaded down her cheeks. Later that night Magda welcomed Igor into her arms again as passionately as she had done all those years ago. Before she went to sleep she said to Igor “There is one thing that I think may cause problems with this whole thing and that is whether I will be allowed to go and live in Australia. How long will it take? Am I too old? What about Anna’s papers? There are so many things to think about.”
Igor turned and spooned into her back draping his arm over her and wrapping her right breast in his hand he said. “The paperwork is the easiest part. I still have some friends here and they can get me all the stuff I need including Anna’s passport. The other thing about your paperwork is even easier. If you were my wife you would have no problem getting the appropriate papers.”
Magda wrapped her hand over his and said in a tremulous voice “Yes! Thank you Igor.” She wept silently with pleasure until she eventually settled into a long and peaceful sleep.
The next morning revealed a typical cold and snowy day. It wasn’t yet the end of autumn and winter had still to set in. It was a day that even the Russians found too cold to venture outside. Wherever you tried to hide from the arctic winds it would seek you out and envelope you in its frigid grasp. The problem with Moscow was that the cold weather was so soul destroying and debilitating that life was a long and torturous path that for these unfortunate women there was no happy ending. The cold drained your energy and spirit and soaked into the deepest recesses of your soul taking your mind and physical being with it. It is a tough existence that the human psyche or body was not meant to tolerate. Some parts of Russia were hot desert but this place...this hell hole called Moscow was a long and never ending icy torture.
Magda and Igor spent the whole of the next day inside sitting and talking around a fire that was re stocked and stoked very half hour or so. Much of the time was spent in bed and around the kitchen table while food, cigarettes and vodka were consumed at a steady but not irresponsible rate. The afternoon dragged by and they had talked about sneaking out for an early diner at the café in the Star of Prussia Hotel a brisk twenty minute walk across the famous Red Square that they looked down on from their room. Anna had gone to visit her friends and to start the farewell process that was to come in the hopefully not too distant future. Besides she felt that Magda needed some time with Igor.
Wrapped in the warmest clothes they could find Magda a long pair of ski pants on top of her thick black knitted tights a woollen shirt with a sweater and a sleeveless water proof top covered by a quilted heavy down jacket. Her slender feet were encased in hiking boots with two pairs of thick work socks. She didn’t look like she was going out for something to eat but she knew that she wouldn’t feel conspicuous at the café. She would pull a heavy fur lined ski cap covering her ears over her head as she left the room. Igor as always wore jeans over knitted tights and a woollen jumper over long sleeve shirt and a thermal under shirt. His stylish long leather coat showed only his Chelsea style leather boots at the floor. He slipped a fur lined cap over his head and snapped the Velcro straps together under his chin to cover his ears.
Crossing the square was the shortest way to get to their destination but the snow which hadn’t eased all day was still coming down heavily. The square was covered in a soft white blanket softening the angles and jutting fixtures of the buildings, seats, statues and railings scattered about the square. Turning to their left Igor said “This is the quickest way to get there and stay in the sparse shelter.” Magda playfully tugged his hand to the right saying “No! This is the quickest way.” They had a theatrical tug of war for a few seconds and began laughing at the silliness of their game. They came together in a mini wrestle and Igor wrapped her in his arms and said “Listen little Miss Argumentative.” Squeezing her at the waist with his right hand in a strong tickle that made her gasp in delight. They continued the silliness for another few seconds before subsiding into a loving and gentle hug where each tried to squeeze harder than the other through the layers of heavy clothing. They separated and holding hands took Magda’s way around the square dodging between overhangs and store front awnings between alleyways cutting through to the rear of the buildings.
About halfway around the circuit they came to a side street that was well known for finding the local working girls that were so prevalent in Moscow. To their surprise the scattered street lights showed huddles of girls wearing clothing that would not keep them warm but at least showed their wares that were for sale. They were all grouped around a couple of open fires that had been built in a waste bin on the pavement and continually hugged each other for warmth.
Magda and Igor huddled under an awning and looked down the street to see the girls being approached by the odd walking man or cars that were driving slowly along the street before stopping. The girls put their heads through a lowered window and then either stood up swearing at the driver or one and sometimes two of them jumped into the car and it slid away on the icy street to a destination unknown.
Magda knew the story and that the girls would perform their service just enough to warm up and were back on the streets with a small payment to seek more activity to feed themselves and their families. In many cases their parents were the recipients of their income and they too had resigned themselves to allowing their daughters to provide for them....there were no other choices open to them. They needed to perform five or six times a day just to survive financially. It was a horrible experience and she thanked God and Igor that she and Anna were facing the end of all this. She smiled inwardly at the thought of helping some of these girls and she beamed at the future she had ahead of her. She was going to be responsible for the recruitment of these girls which in itself was a good position to be in. However she would also be responsible for the new life style she would be bringing to these girls who went with her to Australia. This thought allowed her to accept the challenge with some enthusiasm.
Holding onto Igor with her left arm hooked through his she leaned against his upper arm and the tears from the scene she was surveying ran slowly down his sleeve before freezing in place. They looked once more into the street. It was totally black above the poor lights. The snow came down under the lights in flakes that gave the impression that someone was standing on the roof of the buildings tearing up sheets of paper into little scraps and dropping them into the street below.
By the time they arrived at the steps of the hotel their mood was sombre as they silently took off their top coats and gave them to the cloakroom attendant. Magda entered the ladies room where she placed her hands on the sink and looked at herself. The tears she had shed had smeared her limited make up so she touched up the mess she saw in the mirror, combed her hair and walked outside to join Igor who was waiting patiently in the entrance vestibule. She reached up and licking her fingers she smoothed down a tuft of hair on top of his head that had been teased up when he took off his cap.
Seated at their table they looked at each other and both knew what the other was thinking. The meal out had lost its appeal and they ate in almost silence looking at each other across the table. Without dessert or coffee they slowly walked back to their room before getting into bed. Igor spooned against her and slipping his arm across her waist he said quietly. “I can see how this is affecting you and tomorrow I will tell you all about the way that we can change their lives for ever.” She again took his hand and held it against her breast before she fell into a troubled sleep.
They warmed themselves with a pot of coffee and bread as they sat opposite each other at the small table in the café across the square from where they had dinner the night before. Elbows on the table holding the cup in both hands as if warming them. Magda looked at Igor and said “I guess now is as good a time as any to talk about the whole scheme. I think that what we are doing is wonderful. Selecting girls from the depraved men of the world and sending them to a strange but wonderful country to work in factories and clean houses. But! When I see what I have seen over the past few years and watched as it came to a crashing conclusion last night looking at those poor girls in the cold. The way to salve my conscience is the knowledge that they will have a better life there than they ever will here. I believe that there are lonely men in every country in the world and that these girls could possibly find a man to marry them and live a long and happy life. Most of them are young enough to have children and complete every woman’s dream. Tell me Igor” and with her voice catching “please be totally truthful is this possible for these girls?”
Reaching across with the back of his hand resting on the table seeking hers she placed it in his and he began. “I am in total agreement with you and also feel that this is a good thing that we are doing. When I see the sort of thing that you and Anna had to do to survive and then seeing those girls last night I know it is the right thing to do. It sounds very mercenary I know but what I am about to say I’m sure you will understand. Australian’s are wonderful people and have mostly had a life filled with love, comfort, warmth and family values. They work hard, play hard and enjoy life to the fullest. However! There are some jobs in Australia that the locals will not do because of a number of reasons. Because of the Government and the trade Unions involvement there are minimum wage restraints that are detrimental to some industries. Only people who come from third world countries or countries where fifty dollars or less a week or in some cases a month is considered good pay are prepared to do them. The average wage in Australia is somewhere around four hundred dollars a week. There are garment industries and such like that can only afford to pay people less than a hundred dollars but this is good compared to what they would earn in their own country. There are cleaning jobs in hotels, resorts, hospitals, schools and such like. It’s amazing. Factories making all manner of things are seeking women to complete these tasks and are happy to take who ever they can get. There are fifty different types of jobs that pay what is considered in Australia to be unacceptable wage rates but are welcome income to new Australians. I have a friend who would like to get more women into these jobs if for no other reason than to enjoy the satisfaction of seeing these people make a better life than they have now.
The paperwork is all done in an underhand way but is very authentic. We have never had anyone questioned or even stopped for searches at the immigration or passport check points of any airport or arrival station in Australia. There are major issues in Australia with illegal immigrants and they come by boat and the whole process is under immense scrutiny. If the paperwork for these women is even close to accurate they arrive at major airports with no fuss.
“Why are they only wanting women?” Magda asked with slight suspicion. She was astute enough to have thought this through and it didn’t quite add up. Men also want to do this and many of the women concerned are married or have a man in their lives. The concentration on women worried her a little for obvious reasons.
Without a seconds hesitation Igor replied “There are plenty of jobs for men. They can do the harder work that women cannot do but they get the same wage as the locals and enjoy all the benefits of full-time employment at normal rates. It is a huge bonus for them to have the man and even the older sons working bringing in huge wages and the women want something to do also. They feel that they are contributing to the family and it makes them feel better about themselves. It is also a way for them to meet people and to make friends. They do not need to understand English although they soon learn the language being exposed to it every day. ‘They also learn a few very descriptive and amusing Australianisms’ he thought to himself. The bosses also get more production out of the women and it’s just a natural thing to do. If you know some men wanting to come over then we even arrange that too but their best option is to go through the correct channels to make things easier. The women from these countries would like to buy their own car and clothes and this is the way they see to do this.” He stopped and squeezed her hand in the hope that she accepted his explanation.
She reached round with her other hand and clasping his in both of hers she said “This is a wonderful thing that you are doing and if it makes you a little extra as well then what’s the harm?”
She had thought it through a little more and the logic could not be denied. She was one of these girls and their lives were atrocious and shouldn’t be lived by anyone. At least this way, what Igor was suggesting was a way out for some of them and more importantly she and Anna could have lives that they had only heard about or seen in magazines and television. She thought about Anna and how much she would love to walk down a street in sunshine with her looking at the shops and cafés, movie theatres, sports fields and beaches. To be able to take Anna to a store and buy her some fashionable clothes and shoes then stop for lunch on a pavement café before getting in her own car and driving home to prepare dinner for the three of them when Igor arrived home from work. What a wonderful thought and it was now possible. If the means to this end was by helping others to attain the same lives even through such an unusual means then she would do it. She looked at Igor and squeezed his hand before saying “I am finding it very hard to do this as I wish for all the girls in this business to be free from it and to have decent lives.” Taking a deep breath she added “But if there is only one way to do this then I agree and will go through with it to the end.”
Stifling a huge sigh of relief he sat back and looked at her with such desire and love that she began again to cry softly. It seemed strange that she was as happy as she had ever been in her life for her and Anna’s future and for the future of some of her friends yet she had cried more in the past weeks than she had ever done in her entire life. Tears are such an enigma they ritualize sadness and sorrow and yet they also celebrate joy and happiness. She couldn’t think of any other emotion that showed such diverse responses as the shedding of tears.
On the way home hand in hand they talked about the logistical problems they faced and how best to overcome them. First they would go to the Australian Embassy to enquire about allowing Magda to accompany Igor who was for years now an Australian citizen to Sydney as his new wife and what paperwork would be required for her and Anna. This was, Igor said going to be the easy part so let’s get it out of the way as soon as possible. The problems arose when they needed to get the Russian documents sorted out in time for them to accompany Igor on his return trip. They did not need to go to Wedding Palace Number Four in central Moscow the only place where Russians and foreign nationals are allowed to be married. Even though Igor was now Australian he still had his Russian citizenship and passport as a born here citizen. Where they were going to encounter problems and delays was at the Russian Foreign Ministry where they needed to get the paperwork to allow them to marry and then leave the country with appropriate documents.
The next day after the Australian Embassy visit and the congratulations and ‘I hope you’ll be very happy.’ comments came thick and fast and where they were advised to come back with three birth certificates and proof of identity they could collect their passports and documents within the next ten days.
They then went to Smolyenskaya Square to the Foreign Ministry. After five hours of going from department to department without reaching anyone with the authority to give them what they needed. They in fact ending up back at the first person they spoke to. They went home depressed and utterly frustrated. Walking into the house Anna came bounding up to embrace them both before she sensed a reticence in them that took the wind entirely out of her sails. She stepped back and knew that a stumbling block had jumped in front of them to again give their lives a kick in the pants.
Pouring himself a drink Igor took out his mobile phone and disappeared into the bedroom and could be heard mumbling for the next thirty or forty minutes his voice rising and falling in frustration. He eventually came out and looked at their anticipatory faces and allowed a smile to creep into place. They both rushed to him and they all embraced. “It’s not as good as you think so don’t get too excited but I have just spoken to an old friend and he can get us all the paperwork we need apart from the Australian ones which will be as close to genuine as it’s possible to get. They will fool all and sundry as far as leaving the country is concerned.”
Magda stepped away and turned her back on him in disappointment once again. “It seems that we are destined not to leave here.” she said quietly and anyway there is illegal activity at every turn. Why does it have to be this way? Why is everything so fucking complicated?”
Placing his hands on her shoulders he kissed the back of her head “My love this is Russia and this is the way she works. Russian bureaucracy runs faster in reverse than it does going forward. You know as well as I do that the police are part of the Mafia, that bribery at Government levels will get you what you want. Nothing is normal by other countries standards there is crime and corruption everywhere; it starts from the top and filters down so that everyone can get their share. The only way to win is to join it because you will most assuredly not beat it.”
She turned and looking up at him said “I know all about the way this place works. I’ve lived with it my whole life but this is my last chance at happiness.” Taking Anna’s hand she said “We will do whatever it takes to achieve this and if it means we get caught and never leave here or even end up in those stinking jails then it’s the chance we’ll take.” ‘Huh!’ she muttered quietly to herself ‘And we’ll be no worse of than we are now but at least we will have tried.’ Looking at Anna with raised eyebrows she received the nod of agreement and the straight back and shoulders showing Anna’s resolve that she sought. They both stood tall and turned to Igor as one and showed him that they were united in this and they would be with him until they settled in Australia.
The next morning Igor gave Magda some hard currency consisting of US dollars and some British Pounds Sterling before leaving and saying “I will be seeing a great many people today so expect me home when you see me. Take Anna out to a nice lunch and buy some nice clothes for your trip to Australia if there is anything left when you’ve finished buy something to celebrate with when I return.” He headed for the door and turned with his right index finger pointing at the ceiling with a huge smile on his face. “Just remember my dears there is no need to buy warm clothes.”
He left and they looked at each other with anticipation. Magda waved him off with the wad of notes in her hand. Since they had decided to go to Australia Igor had been helping Magda to teach Anna to speak English as a form of commitment to leaving Russia for ever they also showed her some English spelling and writing. Anna was making impressive progress and could speak about a dozen sentences albeit with Igor’s accent as acceptance to its fluency.
They left the house to walk to the centre of town to buy clothes and to go where neither had ever thought that they would ever be able to go. It was so far out of reach financially that to go there for a look served only to widen the gap between wistfulness and reality so people of their station would leave even more depressed than when they arrived.
The huge marble Mezhdunarodnaya Hotel on the banks of the Moskva River was the place where visiting dignitaries stayed and was also the first western shopping mall in Moscow. There was fashion from the best of the best and this was not to be a problem for the girls this day. Magda had looked at the money in her hand and needed to sit suddenly to absorb the magnitude of it. There was enough money there to allow her and Anna to live in relative comfort for the next year and Igor had simply ripped it from his wallet and said ”Go and buy some clothes and have a nice lunch.”
The availability of such resources and the lack of importance to such large sums of money to Igor stunned her and she found it very hard to understand. “I can’t spend this money it’s wrong. We could live for a year on this.” She had said to Igor before they left.
Igor had looked at her and laughed a gentle loving chuckle. “My dear Magda I spend that much on a suit and shirt. Please, just get something nice for you both and enjoy the experience because you will need to get used to it.”
As they walked into the ‘Mezh’ as it was locally known they stopped and stared in amazement at the shops spread out before them. Names she had never heard of Christian Dior and other major labels that meant nothing to them Versace, Dolce & Gabana and Gucci. McDonalds and Pizza Hut they had heard of but never been to.
They walked around in stunned silence for an hour before venturing into a shop and looked at the clothes and shoes.
It was a Christmas dream for both of them. Because of the amount of money she had with her Magda had split it up into various pockets and parts of her bag with each pocket containing a different currency so that if she had her pocket picked which was a distinct possibility particularly in shops as up scale as here she would not lose it all.
Eventually they stopped at a fashion shop that was not so high end as the others and grabbing Anna’s hand Magda dragged her inside saying “We’ll start here and buy you something for the trip to Australia.” Anna stopped and pulled against her hand and said “No! I will not get anything for myself until you have bought something for your wedding day.” They both squeezed hands a little harder and walked into the shop still holding hands for comfort.
Igor had called an old friend as well as his contacts in the police bribery, murder, theft, drugs, people smuggling and every other criminal related businesses in Russia and called in some favours.
These were genuine favours from long ago but he still expected to pay large sums of money to get what he wanted. A favour given was seen as a fault in the make up of the giver. A favour done and payment requested was a sign of professionalism. The difference was the unwritten code of practice; if one was in the circle then a favour was returned with no problems as long as you had the cash in US dollars usually then your wish was granted and all parties went their separate ways with pride that they had not conceded a single millimetre.
His first call was to Boris and he was pleased to discover that not only was he in the city at that moment but was still in the business and was able to supply Igor what he needed. The meeting took place over lunch in a restaurant off the city centre and began with vodka and many laughs about what they used to get up to in their youth.
Finally after the meal was over and they were having coffee Igor got down to business. “I am after a number of documents that will get two people travelling with or without me, we’re not sure yet as I may have to return before the others leave into Australia safely. I am an Australian citizen and if the paperwork looks even slightly close to the mark then it should be an easy task.
I believe that with the documents you can provide we can obtain genuine Australian passports to allow them entry and any other documents they may need. But before we can get this we need to show the Australian Embassy two birth certificates, a marriage certificate, and anything else required to allow them to give, by then my new wife and her daughter a passport to enter the country.”
Boris had listened patiently until Igor had finished and before replying took a Cuban cigar from its aluminium tube unwrapped it and with an old fashioned bullet cutter, clipped the end from it before lighting it with an exasperating flamboyance. Igor knew the rules and just sat back waiting. The first cloud sailed over Igor’s head. An offer to have one was not made fortunately as he didn’t wish to refuse.
“Firstly congratulations on your upcoming marriage secondly I’m sorry Igor but I thought you were going to ask me something difficult. I’m getting older my friend and need some challenges in my life. I can have what you want within a couple of weeks and it will be so good it will be passed through the Australian Embassy as quick as lightning”. Smiling and sending another cloud over Igor’s head he said “Was there anything else? Anything important?” He added with a smart arse look on his face.
“Well my old mate” tossing in some Aussie slang “You have excelled once again and we must ensure that we do not lose contact. In fact yes! There is something else.”
Boris closed one eye as the smoke drifted into his face he took another puff and this time turned his head to blow the smoke across to an empty table next to them. Igor had noticed that they were an island in a sea of empty tables even though the restaurant was fairly busy. He obviously has the owner in his clutches and he had seated them so that they could talk in total privacy. “If I also had up to eight or even ten girls of questionable repute shall we say who I also wished to get into Australia; perhaps on a regular basis what would be your best suggestion? I may wish to do this a few times a year.”
“This is a horse of an entirely different colour and would need some thought. I have some ideas and would like to hear yours before we continue.”
“Well! I can only believe that the best way would be the same way that we are doing the first despatch. However I do have concerns that there may be some suspicions if there are too many people leaving here to go to Australia even if they arrive in different cities.”
“I agree what else have you thought about?”