I wished I was God, wished for
that almighty power to make things right in an instant and to severely punish
anyone who deserves it. Yes, one of the encounters you make and think, ‘there
has to be someone to punish the evil men consciously mete out on others’. It’s
not boko haram but a young 20 year old,
8-months pregnant girl who is so alone except for her ‘madam’ who
brought her to Europe and to whom she owes 30 thousand euro after she had done
some trekking from Africa, went through Spain (where the father of her soon- to-
be- born baby is) and is currently in Italy to start paying her dues.
I looked back and all I remember at 20 was
being in the University, dreaming of a big bright future and being a dependent
who had her parents and relatives to fall back on. But here is this young girl
who is Nigerian, with a Ugandan name and documents, no Ugandan
international passport (I wonder how she
is going to get that), with no idea how
complicated her life has become because of the forgeries, pregnant and
sceptical about going to the hospital for a caesarean procedure (because her baby refused to turn
with his head down), speaks absolutely no Italian and has someone who has tied
her down with a huge debt and fear for the oaths she took on her life back home!!!
I didn’t know where to start but one thing I kept telling her
was to concentrate on staying alive by agreeing to the procedure, convincing her the CS was not a bad thing and
that here doctors are very qualified to take care of her. I made her call the hospital
with my phone (she did not have call credit and was not allowed to, and had
refused to take the calls from the hospital before we met), I spoke with them
and interpreted for her, took down details of the information they had to pass
on to her and made her promise she will go the day they asked her to come for
delivery. I asked her to call me if she needed someone to talk to (she pleaded
with me not to call her, obviously her madam will not be happy to hear she is
making friends who might help her out of her bondage) and if madam won’t be at
the hospital the day she will give birth. I asked her to let me call a free
toll number I’ve seen on a notice at the city council for help in this kind of
situation but she was so afraid her madam will be taken to the police and
things will get out of hand at home for her family and for her personally
because of the oath. I’m still contemplating on doing that because really it
looks like interfering with someone’s life and at the same time like saving
someone who doesn’t know her way back to a normal life. I preached, advised,
warned her of the dangers of going into prostitution but she kept asking me
what kind of work she can do without speaking the language and without having
legal documents? I couldn’t answer that but kept begging her to let me call
that line for help. I tried getting her to change her mind with stories I had
seen on the news about prostitutes who were murdered but I could see I wasn’t
getting anywhere.
I got home and couldn’t sleep well!
How do you make a debt of 30 thousand
euro before getting to your destination if not that you think money grows on
trees at your destination? Where were her parents? In fact I was later made to understand that
most times parents are privy to these kind of arrangements and consent to it,
in fact sometimes they force their children to do it because they think Europe
has all the answers. Thirty thousand euros for crying out loud! I personally
processed my documents for joining my husband here in Italy and even while I
complained about how rigorous and
expensive the process was, 3000 euro will be just about it (if not a bit
exaggerated) if I take into account the transport fare I spent moving from the
Enugu to Lagos and to Abuja on several occasions and the flight fare to Italy.
How do women, women who are
responsible for bringing life, giving love and nurturing it turn out to be
cruel slave merchants? These are people who have stayed here, who know how
things work and still they go home to deceive the ignorant folks in order to make
themselves richer at the detriment of another’s destiny. How much for a conscience and how much does a destiny cost? The
Bible tells it as it is, the love of money is the root of all evil...note- the
love of money, not money in and of itself!
Presently, I am looking for a way
to go beyond being someone that girl can talk to when she feels the need, I am
hoping she will let me help her as much as I can without complicating her life
further. I am seeking information, advise, whatsoever can help her. If you are
reading this and you know what I can do, please leave a comment. It all started
with her asking me if she has to take a number for her turn, and me asking what
it is she came to the immigration office to do. I believe in going further than
exchanging greetings if you feel it in your heart, to know if you have been
sent to help the person sitting close to you. We all have this ‘I need to mind
my business attitude’, but I know how much I have been helped by people who
didn’t think that way. I want to return this favour, I want to keep contributing
to changing this our world, one person at a time. You too can!
