WHAT IF SOMEBODY STOLE YOU?
A REAL LIFE HORROR STORY

Ask yourself what it might be like to be a victim of trafficking:

Imagine that you heard about an opportunity - a job that would pay you a lot of money, a chance for a better life - in some other place. What if somebody you trusted - a family member, a friend or somebody you know - offered to help you get there? Imagine that when you arrived your travel documents were taken away from you, and somebody controlled and watched every move you made.

What if you were forced to work in dangerous conditions for little or no pay? Imagine if you realized that your transport, food and the place you lived had become a debt that was increasing every day, that you could never pay off?

What would it be like to be physically, emotionally and sexually abused while being trapped in this situation? What would it be like to have no passport and no money, in a country where you don't speak the language and know nobody, too scared to look for help and not knowing where to go? What would it be like to be treated like goods, to be sold?

To lose control over your own life is a situation that is hard to imagine. And yet, right now as you are reading this, children and other people in all parts of the world are being recruited, bought, sold and transported by traffickers who earn money by exploiting them.

Human trafficking is a fast growing horror that is affecting countries and communities all over the world. Although governments and non-governmental organizations are working more and more on the problem of trafficking, there is a lot to be done. One of the most important things is warning children and adults about trafficking, and making sure they understand the dangers involved.