Poipet, the casino town of Cambodia, is a world-renowned destination for tens of thousands of die-hard gamblers, determined to play against the wheel of fortune in a shortcut to prosperity. In a house not far away from the crossroads of Poipet, two young girls also placed a bet on their own lives.

"I guess it's always a struggle, to go there or stay here. You see rich people coming to the casinos, women with fair skin. I thought I would become like them if I went to Bangkok," says Jin.

Jin, 17, met Da, 16, four years ago when their umbrellas bumped into one another. Carrying umbrellas to shelter visitors and tourists from the rain is a common job for Cambodian girls since it is considered less risky and pays a little bit better than other jobs in Rongkluea Market.

Both girls came from poor Cambodian families and worked hard to contribute to the family income. Though she was young, Da was supporting a family of nine children, because her father had died and her mother was ill with TB.

Jin and Da worked from 7am to 8pm walking back and forth from the Immigration Office with their umbrellas. The job put them in a vulnerable position, exposed to all kinds of strangers.

"Our clients often asked us to go and work in Bangkok," Jin and Da admit. "But we knew we had to be careful. We learned from those classes with WVFT [World Vision Foundation of Thailand]."

Even so, children are still children and crafty traffickers know many ways to trick them into forced labour, slavery or prostitution.

The "Japanese Father"

With her appealing look and outgoing personality, Jin had many regular clients. One of them was a man known as the "Japanese Father".

He had once asked her to be his adopted child, saying that she could still live with her family in Cambodia. When she declined his offer he tried to earn her family's trust by increasing Jin's pay to 100 Baht (US$3.2) over the years, using Jin's service as often as three times a week.

"Most people gave me 5-10 Baht [US$0.16-$0.32] each time. The Japanese Father said he owned a jewellery shop in Bangkok but was thinking about opening another one in Rongkluea," Jin explains. "He wanted me and my friends to look after it."

One day the subject was brought up again.

"He told me he needed 5-6 months to get his money ready and the gems polished. I felt that six months would be too long. So I told him that I'd go to Bangkok and polish the gems for him. Then he said if I wanted, I could bring my friends, too."

After that conversation Jin, Da and their mothers came to meet the Japanese Father at Rongkluea Market in the evening. He was invited back to their homes where he discussed taking them away to work in Thailand.

"He showed us a picture of his factory in Bangkok. He even gave us his phone number," Jin's mother remembers, shaking her head. "I thought he was for real. He came to our house and asked for my daughter properly. He respected our tradition."

The trafficker agreed to pay an 8,000 Baht (US$257) advance to Jin's mother and 2,000 Baht ($65) for her salary. He also informed Da's mother that in a week's time he would come back for her daughter.

"He said she looked too much like a Cambodian. It'd be difficult for him. I found out later that he only wanted Jin."

World Vision, authorities step in

The manoeuvres of the Japanese Father had not gone unnoticed. The night he visited Jin's home, World Vision Aranyaprathet staff were having an urgent meeting with the police and local authorities on the other side of the border, working out an interception plan to rescue Jin and Da.

"I thought it was rather strange to see the two mothers at Rongkluea. They had never come here before. And when I talked to them they tried to ignore me. So I knew they were up to something," says Mian Sang, an Aranyaprathet volunteer, recounting his encounter with Jin, Da and their mothers that night.

Having heard from other umbrella girls about Jin and Da's arrangement with the trafficker to leave for Bangkok the next morning at 10am he quickly notified the staff.

"We were so surprised when they came to my house. It was so fast," Jin's mother says with a laugh. "My daughter and Da ran to hide in the toilet."

At Jin's house the staff confronted the girls' mothers about their plan, convincing them to change their mind. Eventually they withdrew their consent, but their daughters were not in a mood to be persuaded of the dangers.

"Da and I left home very early the next morning," says Jin. "We were so close to realizing our new life, we could feel it."

Excited, they crossed the border into Thailand, only to find Kimthean Chan, a Aranyaprathet World Vision staff member, waiting for them.

"My colleagues called me after they couldn't find the girls at their houses. I knew they wouldn't have gone anywhere yet. They had to be somewhere near the border," Kimthean explains.

That morning the staff had a long talk with Jin, Da and their mothers, emphasising what might have happened if they had gone with the trafficker. Most likely they would have been destined for Bangkok's exploitative sex trade. Without a work permit or legal status in Thailand, they would have had difficulty in escaping or complaining about their treatment. Many girls like Jin and Da are never heard from again.

"To tell you the truth, at first I didn't understand," Jin's mother says now. "I thought that it'd be okay. We needed the money and Jin wanted to do it."

"But that morning I realised I did a horrible thing in letting my daughter go."

Da's mother agrees, her eyes welling up with tears. "My family still blames me for it. It all happened so fast. We could have stopped them but we didn't. It was our fault."

After the incident Jin's parents stopped her from working, though Da as main breadwinner still needs to. However, both girls have resumed studying and have just begun a sewing class with World Vision.

"I've learnt from that day. Now when my client asks me to go with him I tell him, 'Thank you but I'm not interested'," Da says firmly.

"We know better now," adds Jin.

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Aranyaprathet, Sakaeo is part of World Vision's Assistance Support and Protection for Migrant and Trafficked Women and Children (ASAP). Names have been changed to protect the identity of the victims.