Experiencing a Thai prison for 16 years
Guests listened in awe to Vanessa Goosen as she took them on a trip down memory lane, through her nightmare experience.
The launch of her book, Drug muled – the Vanessa Goosen Story, was held at the Benoni Country Club on Saturday, September 7.
The book tells the story of Goosen’s experience as a 22-year-old woman who was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in Thailand.
Benoni resident, Noleen Saville hosted the event.
She and Goosen have developed a bond since she started visiting Thailand in 2004, when she developed an interest in South African prisoners and began paying them visits and sending them parcels.
“I am honoured to have met Vanessa; she is an incredible woman,” said Saville.
As a finalist in the Miss South Africa pageant and with her own clothing store, Goosen still had her life ahead of her when trouble erupted.
During the launch, she described her experience as a prisoner under harsh circumstances, and gave listeners a taste of what to expect from the book.
She told how she was set up by her boyfriend and his friend, in a crime punishable by the death sentence.
Describing how her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, due to her pregnancy, and how it was eventually reduced to 16 years, Goosen took the guests on a journey through her experience, reaching a climax with her release from prison and how she came out stronger.
“It’s not like South African prisons where everything is free — in Thailand you have to pay for everything,” said Goosen.
“I was dedicated to writing a book when I was in prison, to get the warning signal out there and to give hope and encouragement.”
A guest asked Goosen what she learned from the experience, to which she answered: “What I’ve learned is not to trust easily”.
She said the hardest part for her was to overcome the “unforgiveness”, anger and hatred that she felt towards her boyfriend and his friend.
Goosen said she is busy writing her second book and is planning on starting a system where regular visitors, food parcels and money can be provided to prisoners in situations such as hers, as she explained that visits from people like Saville were “like gold” to them.
