As she walks down the streets in this cold winter night. Her footsteps go haphazard. Bouncing on the pavement, the wind blows against her face. It scatters her wig and she struggles to arrange it. Gently removing it from her face so as not to mess up her makeup. In the quiet of the night, her heels go koi koi koi. She comes to a halt in her usual location. Close enough to the other girls but distant enough to wave and run after potential customers.
The temperature drops. Her legs freeze as she stands with barely knee-high skin thighs. Feeling uncomfortable, she presses her legs against each other to prevent the cold from entering in-between her thighs. Her black leather skirt is too short and, her top too exposed but her madam made this selection. She shivers as she stands in the cold. Waiting for a car to stop. Waiting to embark on another degrading journey.
Italy, located in Southern Europe is one of the top 10 most beautiful countries in the world. With a great GDP and a high rising economy, it is famous for its fashion, art, cars and most notably it’s delicious pizza and pasta recipes. While this lovely country may seem like the perfect place to live in, it houses a dark secret. Sex Trafficking.
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery. While this is a worldwide problem, Italy is a known destination for trafficked victims. And as noted in the 2019 trafficking in persons Italy report, approximately 80 percent of trafficking victims are from Nigeria.
The Trip to Italy
Following her friend’s advice, she pays the required #250k and prepares for a journey to Italy. Embarking on the trip would take 2 weeks on a boat but Hope was prepared to do whatever it takes to leave Nigeria. She was informed by the said friend that she would be working for her aunt in Italy as a storekeeper. Hope was ecstatic. She would now have enough money to take care of her sick mother and save some to pay for her college tuition.
The boat bounces from all angles as it moves uncontrollably. It has been overloaded. There are too many people on board but no one is willing to not travel as they all had paid the travel expenses. They all knew their lives were at risk but kept on anyway. As the days go by, some boats get lost in the sea. Some people starve to death and are thrown overboard. As stated by the UN Migration Agency, more than 2,300 migrants have died on the same Mediterranean Sea in 2017. It has been noted that more deaths have been recorded there than by any other migration route in the world. And that Nigerians are the most common nationality taking this route.
Hope arrives at the shores of Libya where she is placed in a detention camp with more than 17,000 other immigrants. They are all housed in one place. A cell. Like animals, they are raped and maltreated in the presence of the other detainees. Some of the travelers start lamenting on how they would have stayed back in Nigeria instead of embarking on this fruitless journey. Italy received 23,370 irregular arrivals by sea in 2018 and just more than half (12,977) via Libya, where many reported experiencing extortion, torture, and rape by militias or traffickers while awaiting passage.
It took about 5 months before an indigene came for Hope. A woman in her mid 40’s. She takes Hope off the camp to an undisclosed location where she hands her to another person. A man in his 50’s. In exchange, the man gives the woman an undisclosed amount of money. Hope says,’ I had the feeling they were selling me.’ And, she was right! Hope is immediately transported to another boat where she continued her journey to Italy.
The Arrival
After another four days, Hope arrives at the borders of Italy. She is immediately contacted by a man who brings her to an Island capital in Palermo. Upon entering a house in the slums of the city she meets a lady popularly known as madam Cash. ‘You are to stay here and work until you pay back the owed 35,000 euros.’ She says. This lady makes it clear that she bought hope. And that hope was to pay back the money in return. Unsure of what to do, she reluctantly agrees.
The Dilemma
It’s been a year now and Hope, together with 17 other girls, go out at the dead of the night to sell their bodies. They dress her up, do her makeup, arrange her hair, and give her a bag of condoms. With a rough estimate of 30 euros a man, Hope is disturbed. She ponders on how long it would take her to pay back the money her madam had requested. She has to sleep with 7-8 men a night to get the required 200 euros per night fee. She begs her madam to reduce the said amount but was urged to increase her sexual escapades to pay back the money sooner. She considered running away a couple of times but couldn’t. If she is caught by the authorities, she will be deported back to Nigeria and all her efforts would be wasted. The madam held her passport so she couldn’t travel. It is a dilemma. Stay and suffer or run away and stand the chance of getting deported.
As is the norm in Nigeria, limited resources make life hard. And as a result, some Nigerians feel the need to travel to another country. Another country gives the promise for a better future. This is what Hope had in mind. It’s a good dream but in reality, far-fetched. Just as her name implies, she hopes things will turn out better. But knows she will spend the better part of her life prostituting.
Of an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 individuals in prostitution in Italy, NGOs reported approximately 60% are trafficking victims or vulnerable to trafficking. This means more than 50% of people prostituting in Italy were deceived they would have a better life over there. And in return, kidnapped and made to sell sex. As indicated by the International Organization, an estimated 75 percent of the Nigerian women and unaccompanied children who arrived in 2018 were trafficked victims.
Is it worth it?
It’s not new information that thousands of people die yearly taking the Mediterranean route abroad. It’s not recent news that many Nigerians are doing mediocre and illegal jobs abroad to make a living. But, people still embark on this journey knowing what lies in store for them. So my question is, is it worth it? living in bondage because of the dream of a better life. Is it worth it? The rape. The torture. Prostitution. The imprisonment. Is it worth it? The humiliation. The insults. The kidnapping. Forced labor. The deaths. Is it worth it?
Please, check out my article Is it really worth taking your life?
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