Palesa’s Story
We are proud to call A21 a member of the Dressember Network, as their work in awareness, intervention and aftercare for trafficking survivors is changing lives every day. Founded in 2008, A21 works in 18 locations within 13 countries to combat human trafficking.
In early December 2020, A21 opened a brand-new Freedom Center in Cape Town, South Africa—a development made possible by Dressember’s fundraising in 2019. A21’s Freedom Centers provide survivors the protective services they need to transition into their lives after trafficking, including psychological services, housing assistance and career assistance. Dressember has the opportunity to resource A21’s vital anti-trafficking work and hear stories of survivors and their bravery.
Inside A21’s new freedom center in Cape Town.
One survivor’s story A21 recently shared with us is from Palesa*, who was able to use A21’s National Human Trafficking Hotline to escape her trafficker. Palesa, a 20-year-old female from a rural village in South Africa, was an orphan at a very young age. Her aunt and uncle took her and her siblings into their care when they were young, but the family was still not making an income that Palesa felt comfortable with as the oldest child. When a visitor came to their village and told Palesa about a job opportunity that could “change her life,” she felt the pressure to take it, desperately wanting to care for her siblings. When she agreed to take the job, the visitor promised her a bus ticket and a cab that would pick her up when she arrived in Cape Town.
The cab that picked Palesa up took her to a house in the city. Upon her arrival, the recruiter she had met collected her identification information and left, never to be seen by Palesa again. Beginning the night she arrived, she was forced into prostitution, and all of the money she made was handed over to her traffickers. There were other girls in the house, but they were not allowed to speak to one another. Palesa was not allowed to go outside unless she was with a client, and if she didn’t bring home enough money to her traffickers after a job, she would be beaten and left without food.
Palesa’s life changed one night when a client took her to his house a few miles outside the city.
When they got back into his car, he admitted to her that he didn’t have any money to give her. This terrified Palesa, as she knew she would be punished if she went back to the house empty-handed. She convinced the client not to take her back to the house in which her traffickers trapped her and was instead dropped off in an unfamiliar area. Palesa was able to find a small convenience shop and was taken to a local police station. The officer called the South African National Hotline, and the following day, a social worker with A21 arrived to meet her.
Since then, Palesa has had A21 at her side, assisting her and her family with safe accommodation, psychological care and other needs. She is on “a journey to restoration,” and she desires to attend a university.
The new Freedom Center is making continual care possible for survivors like Palesa.
Palesa’s situation is unfortunately not an isolated one. A common thread in the stories of trafficking survivors is that they begin with a promise. The promise is typically of money, a nice place to stay or a better life. In the end, the survivor has to fight for their life to get out of the situation they were so deliberately lured into. This is why the work of A21 and similar organizations is immeasurable in its importance. If we can come alongside them and give survivors a chance at getting their lives back, we should be compelled to do anything we can to join the fight.
*Palesa’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.
Interested in learning more? Watch this video to learn about Freedom Centers and Dressember’s impact in Bulgaria.
About the Author
Erin Diaz Cleveland is a writer and planner from Central Virginia. Her life goal is to use her passions to inspire and encourage others to serve and better themselves and their communities. She loves spending time with her family, instructing yoga and drinking iced espresso in the afternoon.