She has experienced horror day after day. Who knows for how long? The days ran together as she was sold by her trafficker over and over. He threatened her family if she tried to escape. He beat her when she didn’t make him enough money.
But she met a kind man who said he would help her get to safety. She didn’t know if she could trust him but she didn’t know where else to turn. What he said was true. He helped her escape from that terrible place. Home is still very far away and she doesn’t know what the future looks like. But for now, she is free.
He has introduced her to other people she is starting to trust. The doctors at the hospital were gentle when they bandaged her wounds. The medicine is starting to make her feel better. They tell her she is loved, and that they’ve been waiting for her. They tell her about a place of peace they’ve prepared just for her. It’s called The Sanctuary. She wants to believe it exists and that she will make it there.
She doesn't own anything anymore, so they bring her clothes and warm food to eat. “I don’t deserve this,” she whispers. “How can I ever repay you?” They tell her she doesn’t need to and that people like them will be with her the whole way.
They talk about a network of anti-trafficking advocates who care about women and children like herself. They want to make sure no one goes through what she has gone through. They want to help her to heal. She tells them she doesn’t know how she will get home. She has been in jail before and her trafficker threatened he would make sure she was charged with prostitution. She doesn’t have an ID or a passport. How will she deal with the legal issues, the documentation she needs, and the transportation back home?
“It’s called The Freedom Highway,” they say. There are people who will help you—lawyers, doctors, church members, and the Uncaged team. “We know it may feel like a long journey, but you won’t be alone.”
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This is not one survivor’s story. It is the story of all of them. The particulars may be different—from how old she is, how long she was trafficked, how the rescue happens, or how she gets to a place of healing and transformation. It’s the story of her journey home. It is often filled with obstacles and it takes many people walking alongside her. Will you be one of them?