A survivor

My name is Chameli* and I’m a survivor of human trafficking. I’ve experienced the violence traffickers inflict on people. This is my story.

One day, a tall, middle-aged man, who had been watching me walk along the road in front of my house, approached me from behind and knocked me unconscious. When I came to several hours later, I was in a house and my legs were tied together with rope.

There were many other children in the room, bound in the same way, and the kidnappers only untied us once a day for lunch. That went on for five days, but on the sixth day I had the chance to escape. Nobody was in the room and the door wasn’t locked, so in the evening another boy and I loosened the rope from our legs and ran away as fast as we could.

I didn’t know where we were exactly, but we came to a main road and saw an easy bike [a battery-powered rickshaw] going to the bus stop in Sonadanga. After reaching the stop, we got on a bus and arrived in Satkhira at night. I then travelled home to Munshipara and the boy went to his family in Parulaia.

Back home, World Vision helped me deal with my family and arranged for professional support from health workers, the police, a psychologist, and a counsellor. And now I’ve started school again.

Eventually, I discovered the female pimp who imprisoned us works in the city of Khulna, which is where I was taken. To this day, I’m still haunted by memories of the smell there and the cold floor which numbed my feet.

There is no difference between trafficking and prostitution when innocent women and children are preyed on for the sex trade. Traffickers and pimps violate these people, who are left to dream of escaping harm. No one deserves this nightmare.

I was locked in that tiny, dark room for days, but my time as a hostage felt endless and my mind left my soul. That was the only way I could stay sane, but at times my tears at the hopelessness of my situation overwhelmed me.

Over time, I began to heal, trust and reinvent myself to return to society and make a positive contribution. I want to reach out to those who are still imprisoned by human trafficking and exploitation, so I’ll publicise my experience for them.

Chameli has belonged to World Vision’s child sponsorship scheme in Bangladesh’s south-west region of Sathkhira for five years. Trafficked as a child, she has decided to share her experience of being exploited by criminals in the sex industry.

*Name changed to protect identity.

Story: Gloria Das, Photos: Subrata Sarker