From Hunter to Hunted

In his quest to free slaves around the world, Aaron Cohen thought hed seen it all. Then he went to Myanmar

A A A Comments By CHRISTINE BUCKLEY Thursday, Jun 28 2007

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In the meantime, Cohen has arranged manicures and massages for the women. "I told them I'd take them to the beach today, but they wanted to go to a swimming pool instead," he laughs, sounding genuinely happy.

But when I ask how he's doing, he stops, as though he hadn't considered that. "I carry a load of grief in my heart," he starts. "There are so many faces in my mind."

Click photo to go to slideshow.

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One of those faces belongs to Kao, the Shan soldier who lost his leg. "Ah, yeah, we're trying to get him a prosthetic limb from the Global Angels charity through Paul McCartney," he says. "I haven't stopped thinking about him."

I tell Cohen that maybe he should take a break, get away somewhere low-key, like Thailand, or, okay, not Thailand, how about Canada? There aren't that many people enslaved in Canada, are there? He laughs. I'm sure he's probably fun to hang out with once you get off this topic. If you can get off this topic.

He tells me that he's just a suitcase-packing away from being ready to leave. But he's not likely to go to a beach somewhere and just lie there, oblivious. Those faces, those voices of Aaron Cohen's—you don't just switch them off.

"I'll be on the move again soon," he promises.

To view a slideshow of Aaron Cohen's photos, click here.

For Michele A. Clark's take on Aaron Cohen and his "night-frighting" techniques, read Christine Buckley's "Breaking Into Brothels."

Toll-free number to report human trafficking: 1-888-373-7888.