I found this article on Time Magazine called Buy Freedom by Hannah Beech on November 17, 2003. Here’s the link if you want to read it http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,543843,00.html.  This article really didn’t answer my question but had lot info on how some wives had to go through hardship to be where they are. Reading about these two ladies was very heart breaking to be in another country to have some sort of freedom and live better lives.  One of them had it more badly than the other. Just reading about this made me feel sad just to know that they went through that to make sure that they lived a better life. To be sent to a refugee-detention for months and just given boiled corn kernels or two rice cakes and salt water nothing else plus to work and be beaten. One had it harder than the other but at the end was sold for $36 by a North Korean middleman to a Chinese smuggler and then was sold for $600 to a Chinese famer that took care of her and loved her. As for the other she had to be beaten and sold to man that didn’t love her and beat her but she will not leave him since she was threaten they will call north Korea.   These two ladies look for nothing more that we all do a safe and living family. From how they both got it made me think that I’m fortune to have what I have. My question to you is would you go through what they both did to have freedom?

I recently found this article on the U.S. News called The Bride Buyers that was posted on September 13, 2007 at 8:00pm the author name is Jessica Bennett. Here’s the link if you want to read more about it. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/09/13/the-bride-buyers.html.  This article is behind my curiosity question and I figure it would be interesting to reads since it had the title bride buyer but as I read on all I have to say these parents are sick to put their daughter on a site to give her away. What makes me more upset is that a 15 year old is thinking of marrying an older man just because she thinks the boys her ages are not old enough is wrong and they shouldn’t think of that at the age and to have the parents agree to put her on the site.  This article was pretty much more interesting as you read more into it since it was more for the creepy old guys wanting to be with younger girls and the local reporters would write them to get more info but they don’t response at all can you say creepy men. A lot of this article is a lot of what people would do to get girls at that age to agree to meet them. Personally this article was too much for me to read since I have a daughter. What is more interesting is that trafficking has got more out of control more that they are trafficking the younger girls. I guess this was more experiment for them to see the reaction of the reader’s well they got me there but it is true that most of this is happening out there. So what do you think?

I recently found this article on the Slate called In Defense of Mail-Order Romance by Kerry Howley posted on June 11, 2009 at 10:05am.  Here’s the link of you want to read more about it. http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2009/06/11/in_defense_of_mailorder_romance.html. This article really didn’t answer my question but was very interesting to read. This was very interesting to know that they question the brides why they married for the time they only knew the groom. A lot of the questions are more of the line why are you doing and is it more for money or to get out of this country. This woman was very honest with the answer that she loves her husband and she married to get out of Ukraine. Than they question themselves if it is right to let her have the freedom of the right to be a residency and that she loves later. To me that is just wrong to find love with someone you just meet for a month but then again I get where she’s coming from to get away whatever she faces every day in Ukraine.  I get why they ask questions to make sure that they just don’t give a green card to anyone.  If I was in their shoes I think I would do the same but then again it’s a risk they all take.  I think a lot of women do it to get out and don’t really care if they get hurt or not. Some get lucky when they marry but some are not. My question to you is would you just marry for these reason?

I recently found this article on The New York Times called Ordering brides on the Web: old business, new source by JULIE CHECKOWAY Published on June 07, 2000. Here’s the link if you want to read more about it. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/07/business/shopping-ordering-brides-on-the-web-old-business-new-source.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm. This article somewhat answered my question to where its talks about when the customers pays for $3,000 to $5,000, including hotel and airfare.  As some dating website they guarantee that men will meet more than 800 women in 10 days.  The studies in this online dating is report by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the number of marriages between American men and foreign women they met through online matchmakers has doubled in the last decade, totaling 4,000 to 6,000 a year. Wow that’s crazy how we are looking more online than to just meet people near our town. Plus to me I wouldn’t pay that much to find someone and the site says they will pay for fare and hotel to meet the person is very odd to me. A lot the dating site are making a lot of money by promote international marriages, Internet versions of the 19th-century mail-order-bride business which in the mid-1970's, most mail-order brides came from the Philippines, today more than half of the 200 mail-order bride businesses online cater to men seeking mates from Russia and Ukraine. What surprises me that they do discount on the site where they do an Anastasia’s tours? Wow can you say cheap. Another surprise is that a lot of the customers come back when their relationship doesn’t work out.

I recently found this article on NY times called Law on Overseas Brides Is Keeping Couples Apart by EDUARDO PORTER Published: October 17, 2006; here’s the link if you want to read more about it. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/us/17brides.html?_r=1&. This article didn’t get my answer to how much they cost but was a very interesting to read. I guess there is some men that have a harder time to get their wives to the America than most places. In this article Mr. Weaver found the woman of his dream and he did all he could to get her back but the government in Colombia where she’s from froze her visa application. The reason they did it was to her soon to be husband was being investigated. To me that’s just a bit far but I understand where they are coming from they are trying to protect the ladies. As for this guy he sends her money to learn English and start learning to drive and he cared for her.  In my opinion I think that marrying someone from another country when you have to buy them is odd to me plus if they stop or put a hold the visa it makes you question I’m I doing the right thing. For him it’s out of love since he went to see her a few times before he knew she was the one. I guess for her is love too other than just get to get America and leave him but it’s not she cared for him and seen something different in him to wait that long to be with him. What do you guys think, would you wait if you were in his solution?

The title of the article I read is called The Plight of Vietnam's 'Mail-Order' Brides. I found the article in The Atlantic written on May 30 2012 and here the link where the article is at http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the-plight-of-vietnams-mail-order-brides/257814/   This article really didn’t tell me how much but gave me price of $5,000.00 for Vietnam’s mail-order brides. The other things that they really talked about was that they go out their way to get one and most are being abused after they get married or killed. A lot these brides are tricked into sham-marriages that were just a front for organized prostitution and after they are brought back pretty much they are put to work. They said that the entire Vietnam woman knows the risk of the danger they still do it. What’s the point to finding a bride in another country when you will be paying so much for it than come home to beat her or murder her. There’s some that do that to find wives and live happy ever after but some can’t deal with the language barrier they start fighting I guess that’s why they divorce or kill them. You don't know who you are ordering too and no personal relationship before marriage so that’s why they don’t connect but some manage to work it out. To me it’s a waste of money to buy a bride when you could find someone in your town plus the cost of divorce is too much. Here’s my question to you guys will you guys ever buy a mail order bride when you know the risk of it?