Today I'm going to interview a victim of human trafficking. I'm going to hear Isabel's story on how she got tricked into working as a domestic slave with work that exceeded what was manageable for one person. I'm going to meet Isabel who is from South Africa at a café and I'm both scared and excited to hear her story.
"first of all, how are you and how is your life going after the terrible incident?," I asked
"I am doing fine, however, it's hard to sleep at night, knowing what I put my family and myself trough. I have spent the past year trying to reach out to as many people as even possible. I want to raise awareness on trafficking and make people realise that this is a very common issue, and can happen to anyone. It has been a tough year and I struggle a lot with anxiety and I hardly trust any stranger anymore, but on the other hand I have found my purpose and that is to save people from this nightmare," she answered and shifted in her seat while she was sipping on her tea.
"So," I continued, "can you explain how you got tricked and why you agreed on the offer?"
"Sure. A year ago I worked for a nice lady in her house, it was a great job with good money and I got to see my family every day. The woman eventually asked if I wanted to go to the U.S. and work there, but I declined the offer because I didn't want to leave my family." Isabel took a short break to get her story straight and to breathe, then she continued, "The couple said they would pay for my girls to go to boarding school if I accepted the offer, and it was so important to me that I accepted it. I stumbled upon an offer who was too good to be true. I trusted the woman I worked for a lot, so when she asked me to go to the U.S. in exchange for boarding school for my daughters, I naturally was too gullible and trusting. When you get an offer like that it's usually fake, but I wasn't aware of that at the time."
"That sounds awful! I'm truly sorry for you," I said in shock. "when you were in the U.S., how did they treat you?"
"They treated me like I wasn't even there. I wasnt allowed to speak or say my name to anyone. I took care of everything in their house; cooking, cleaning, gardening and the children. I worked for almost 100 hours a week and did only get paid $70 a month, which was way less then what I expected," she explained.
"at what point did you realise that you had been tricked? and how did you get out?"
"I almost immediately knew that there was something odd about the arrangement, and when I started working I knew that something was terribly wrong. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't speak to anyone so it was hard to handle. I was at a very low point in my life, alone and confused with only myself to speak to. At last I finally found the courage to contact an immigration attorney and charges was brought to the couple that I was enslaved for and I could go back to my family," she said with shame written all over her face.
"Thank you for talking to me, Isabel, it was truly wonderful to meet you and I wish you much luck further in life"
"The pleasure is on my side", she smiled and wiped a tear.
Image link: here
-Eivor
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