Snakehead

My name is tse Mei-ying.

But people call me sister tse.

I never believed in the American dream.

All I knew was how to survive.

I made a deal with a snakehead from Taiwan.

Prostitution for smuggling me to New York.

I knew we could die, but we all have our reasons.

Get on the ground!

At approximately 4 A.M. today,

a cargo boat with hundreds of smuggled Chinese migrants

was intercepted by the FBI off of rockaway beach, queens.

Chinese human smugglers, often known as snakeheads,

have shown a reckless disregard for the health

and safety of the migrants being smuggled.

Fuck out of my face.

Huh?

Anybody else want a home run?

Come on.

Now you shut the fuck up.

Welcome to america.

- Here you go, drink! - Cheers!

- Barbie. - Let's go.

Hey, come, sit.

You wanna eat, you guys hungry?

Maybe I went the light way before.

Hey you, how much you owe?

Drink, it'll make you feel better.

I owed $57,000 to the snakehead.

All that mattered was that I was here.

We all have our reasons.

I came to america to find my daughter.

Put some makeup on.

Time for work.

Hi.

My name is Steve, Steven.

What's your name?

Bitch, you bit me!

Fuck!

The fuck is going on?

Kill the bitch, dai mah!

She tried to kill me!

What would you do if somebody fucked you up?

Everyone has to work and earn here.

I can work, I can earn.

Just give me a chance.

I just gave you a chance.

That kind of work is for the weak.

I'm not weak.

Ah, so you think I'm unfair?

No.

There are rules.

Chinatown doesn't change for anyone.

Come on.

This is Hong.

He came here for the same reasons you did.

But he betrayed me, my family,

and you.

He set up the FBI ship raid.

So sister tse, what would you do

if someone betrayed your family?

I didn't always make the right choice,

but I always survived.

After I got caught, went to jail for eight years.

They took my daughter away, and she was adopted in New York.

When I got out, I vowed to find her.

Hey.

Uh, no.

Come on, let me show you.

At first...

Get the right amount of meat.

I didn't trust zareeb.

Water here.

Helps it stick, you know?

- But in the end... - Fold it over, pinch.

He was my only friend.

Voila.

You try.

We were the same.

You know, america is tough, but look,

at least we have jobs here.

We both depended on dai mah to survive.

Might need a lot more practice.

You'll get it, you're smart.

You from fuzhou or guangdong?

Where are you from?

You speak Chinese?

Just a little.

But my French is much better.

Look.

My wife come here soon.

Then I'm going to open my own restaurant,

zareeb's famous dumplings.

You have a family here?

Get back to work.

Come on, dai mah.

We got labor laws, I get breaks.

Hey, you hear boss lady, let's go.

No, you stay.

I've got some other jobs that pay more.

How much?

What'd you bring me?

Zareeb really does make good dumplings.

Can I trust you with money?

I need a new collector.

My clients respond better to women than pai gwut.

What's in it for me?

Give you a list, you collect.

I take $200 out each month of what you owe.

If they don't pay?

They will.

Feeling lucky?

Well here's your tip.

You should use the ones with the copper coating.

To round the corners, a dead giveaway.

There is a saying where I'm from.

When drinking water, remember the source.

I knew why I was here.

Four months I couldn't find her,

and then one day, there she was.

Every Sunday I followed her to church.

Even after eight years, a mother knows her daughter.

My search was over.

But I didn't know what to do next.

Dai mah's smuggling empire kept the peace

in a dying Chinatown underworld.

Import-export companies, truck drivers

and employment agencies all depended on her.

For them, smuggling was harmless.

But everyone knew this wouldn't last.

If they kept quiet, they got to eat.

Even Rambo's girlfriend sinh

got closer to the operation every day.

Pai gwut remained loyal.

And no matter how mad he got,

no wrong respect Rambo.

Everyone knew who fed them.

Alright, y'all better put your hands,

put your motherfucking hands up!

Shut up!

Shut up!

Thank you for coming.

My first birthday party I've ever had in my life.

I hate all of you fuckers!

Not one of you visited me when I was locked up!

So fuck you!

I wanna dedicate this evening to the one woman

that means everything to me.

I love you, ma.

That's my mom!

I'm gonna sing you a song, ma.

What the fuck,

- you think you can touch me? - What the fuck?

- You don't get to touch her! - What the fuck?

Big bro, big bro!

No, no, chill, big bro!

Chill, big bro!

Big bro, chill, chill!

Your soba better.

Let me help.

No, I don't need help.

Come on, sister tse, everybody needs help sometime.

How long have you been working for them?

About three years now.

I was here before Rambo got out.

What did he do?

You didn't hear?

His father was a drunk.

Used to come home and beat dai mah every day.

One day Rambo grew up, killed him.

Killed him?

The rest of the family's fine.

He's got a brother on wall street.

Rambo's just the black sheep, you know?

So how much do you owe them?

53,200.

Wow!

So when you were dreaming of coming to america,

did you think it was gonna be this way?

I didn't think, I just came.

Hey yo.

Feed the pair fish with this,

and then wipe down all the condensation.

Our friends don't like condensation.

Hey, I know ma wants us to work together,

so as long as you listen to me...

Fuck!

Damn it.

Hey babe.

Sup baby.

What's going on?

So can you tell me why she's here?

I just needed some help.

She needs the money.

Ma says she wants her here anyway.

Really?

You see, this is exactly what I mean.

Fuck you talking about, huh?

You know what the fuck I'm talking about.

You should be a man.

Well you should shut the fuck up.