WC: You describe Damrong being sold into prostitution at age fourteen by her parents. The contract was for one year in Malaysia, sixteen hours a day, servicing a minimum of twenty men each day. Damong returned to Bangkok as “Totally efficient. Totally cold.” No wonder she was responsible for her father’s death and demanding gatdanyu (a type of obligation or blood debt) from her brother Gamon. In some ways her character seems comparable to Richard III or Milton’s Satan.

JB: Those are grand comparisons! I practiced criminal law for a short time in the U.K. and was involved with a few criminal cases in Hong Kong. The fact is that the environment for a child is one of the prime factors that determine if she or he will grow up into a monster or a responsible human being. Damrong has all the natural gifts and needs of a young woman, but her background has twisted her so that she can only express herself in an apocalyptic—and indeed criminal—manner. This is not at all unusual amongst poor young people. I think the debate is blurred at the moment by Islamic fundamentalism, which makes us believe that something in radical Islam produces a destructive and suicidal mentality. Actually, this is a universal reflex to poverty and defeat which we have seen all over the world, from the ghost dances of Native Americans a hundred years ago to the extreme violence of many African communities today. Indeed, I learned from the History Channel a few nights ago that the Anglo-Saxons formed themselves into apocalyptic suicide squads at one time in order to fight the Romans, who could not be otherwise defeated because of their superior technology. And, of course, we have the example of kamikazi from Japan in WWII. Damrong is simply an apocalyptic character within the limits of her background. She is courageous, larger than life, skillful, smart, and loves destruction for its own sake. I would say that fits with quite a lot of criminals I have met in my work.

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