Eight years ago, María left Caracas, Venezuela, conducted by the decrease in opportunities and the hope of completing her veterinary studies. With only 21 years, he accepted an offer from an acquaintance who promised work in Trinidad and Tobago, cleaning houses, waiting tables. He seemed a lifeguard, a way to keep herself and her family at home.
She did not know then that she was entering a well -set trap.
“I believed in the promise of a better future,” Maria recalled, “but I found myself trapped in a nightmare that could not escape.”
Forced to labor and sexual exploitation, she lived with fear, she rarely saw sunlight, with her freedom stripped.
Maria has found stability and strength, determined to turn her history into a resistance and cure.
Held captive for months
After eight months in captivity, Maria managed to escape. It was not the end of his struggles, but the beginning of a slow and determined journey towards healing.
Now 29 years old, she lives in Trinidad and Tobago with her partner and her two young children, one and five years old. Although his days are now full of school races and shared foods, trauma still persists. She smiles when she talks about them, but her voice has the weight of everything she has survived.
“It has not been easy,” he said, his voice trembling. “But, I’m building a new life, step by step.”
Back in Venezuela, his family knows nothing about what he endured. Shame and fear have kept her silent. Seven years have passed since the last time he saw his parents and brothers. Although it strange them deeply, the weight of what happened still feels too heavy to express in words.
Maria attracts the strength of her two young children, now one and five years old, while rebuilding her life.
Fight people trafficking
Like many survivors of human trafficking, Maria has had to rebuild more than just her physical safety. Emotional wounds are deep, and the stigma surrounding traffic makes recovery even more difficult.
The International Organization for Migration (IIM) has been by its side, offering psychosocial support, helping her to find safe homes and providing tools to rebuild her life.
“We work tirelessly to combat trafficking in persons,” says Deery Jordan-Whiskey, assistant of the report project in Trinidad and Tobago. “Our commitment is to provide critical assistance to survivors while advocating stronger policies to avoid exploitation and guarantee justice.”
- Take immediate measures to eradicate forced labor, modern slavery and human trafficking
- Protect labor rights and promote safe and safe environments for all workers
- Sustain economic growth per capita and at least seven percent growth of the gross domestic product per year in less developed countries
- Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technology and innovation
- Improve the global efficiency of resources in consumption and production
- Decuple economic growth with environmental degradation
Global unemployment is expected to fall below the levels prior to pandemic, although not in low -income countries
SDG 8
Maria is one of the many women throughout the region who have been attracted to false promises and have been found in exploitation situations.
She knows that there is a long way ahead, but she refuses to be defined by her past.
“I want other women to know that they are not alone. There is life after this, there is strength.”
Its history sheds light on the broader crisis of human trafficking, where women and girls look disproportionately affected. According to the UNODC overall report on human trafficking in people, 52 percent of victims in Central America and the Caribbean are girls under 18, and 62 percent are trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Behind each statistic there is a human being, a daughter, a sister, a mother, trying to survive and recover.
But, the numbers cannot capture the courage that is needed to start over.
“I am a living proof that you can rebuild your life,” says Maria, her stable voice now. “Time is needed, but it is possible.”
*The name has changed to protect your identity