A Life or Death Phone Call

Our Algeciras Freedom Center director, Nora, sent us a message on Friday relaying the desperate reality of a woman they’ve been working with. Assia* is a Moroccan woman being trafficked in Spain’s sex industry by local mafias. She has already survived much more than any one individual should have to endure. Assia a strong woman, but recently the risks of danger have raised to a morbid level, and she is scared.  Just the day before, another woman was beaten to death by the women's controllers-- the third this month already. Now these men had turned their attention to Assia and she knew she had to get out. Even though her friendship with our team was just beginning, Assia felt at peace whenever they spent time together. So, she picked up the phone and called Nora for help.

“We are currently at the police station.” Nora told us. “We’re filing a report together about these men.” Our center and the local police have been very fortunate to earn each other’s mutual trust and support. When our team met with the Guardia Civil recently, they pledged their commitment once again to help us with anything we need, so we knew with such serious threats of violence and death, it was a wise time for Assia to come forward legally.

Our team stayed with her the entire weekend and made a plan for her safe exit to another city. They made sure she had food and travel funds, and of course a safe person at this new location. However, most importantly, they made sure Assia knew she wasn’t alone. As of today, this brave woman is on a bus headed towards new beginnings. Her journey to freedom has begun. She is NOT ABANDONED...

When donating to a cause as complex as human trafficking, it’s hard to know that your generosity is actually going to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most. Not Abandoned empowers freedom for exploited women in the darkest places around the world, so that your donations actually change the destiny of a woman’s life.