“…the worst thing in my life. Who was this [person],
where’d [the mama-san] come from, to make me pay
such a huge debt? I can’t forget it. She pointed in my
face and said, ‘Don’t think about running away or I’ll
have you killed’ … it was a system. As soon as I paid
off all the debt, they were going to sell me again. And
then they were going to give me more debt. That was
too much, I couldn’t stand it. I had to run away, even if
it meant I might die.”