Mariana's story is a case of human trafficking which one could say has almost become typical or banal.

“I wasn't going to kill myself, although I realized this could be the last day I was seeing myself in the mirror. In the apartment there was only the cleaning woman who couldn't possibly stop me if I wanted to open the fridge to reach for the pills, which was a natural human gesture. I didn't know what sort of pills there were in the glass container, but I was prepared to take all of them as long as that got me into a hospital, and from there the way home seemed shorter.”

People have stopped responding to the tragedy of girls who are sold into slavery without them even being aware of it. “Just another one”—this is what one can hear from people who consider that the problem of human trafficking in Moldova is an artificial one and exaggerated. If they looked the girls in the eyes or actually tried to understand what they have gone through, perhaps people would change their attitude.

“I had a fight with my boyfriend,” Mariana continues, “because he didn't trust the people who had promised to help me go to Italy . I knew where I was supposed to be going. My cousin had married there several years before. She had sent me money, found a job for me and was meeting me at Rome airport. I ended up in Dubai ! On landing I became frightened when I saw so many people in white clothes and with rings on their heads. I asked for an explanation from the woman who was accompanying me. I was shouting, waving my hands to attract attention, but no one paid any attention. The woman threatened me and told me that if I didn't stop making a noise I would regret it. Then she passed me on to an Arab woman who didn't speak, but from the look in her eyes it was clear she meant no good. I froze. I didn't know what to do. I must have lost consciousness. When I came to I was in an apartment with 17 other girls who were preparing for work. Two of them had been told to give me instructions so that I could start immediately that first night. I didn't want to listen. I protested until the owner came with a club in his hands. He knew how to hit to avoid leaving marks on my face, but he destroyed my kidneys without the slightest emotion on his face. The horror continued in the night club, where I sat as still as a stone while my ‘colleagues', who were unhappy with my refusing to take part in the action, complained to the owner. The beatings took place every day until I felt I could no longer stand it. So one day I decided to escape from that prison at any cost. I knew that in the fridge there were pills. I picked the largest container and took them all, hiding from the cleaning woman behind the fridge door. Shortly afterwards, as I was feeling I was about to collapse, the owner came through the door and told me he would bury me in the house rather than take me to a hospital. He was very convincing. What I wanted was to get to a hospital; I didn't want to die, so I went into the bathroom and vomited up the pills. Then I continued to work.”

“When I returned home I didn't want to see anyone. I was afraid even to utter the names of the traffickers, but with the CPTW team I feel safe,” says Mariana. “It was here that I understood how important it was to have the people who had destroyed my inner world and killed my dreams, punished. I have nothing to lose and I will fight on, together with the people who support me, to put the criminals in prison.”

By its activities the Centre for the Prevention of Trafficking in Women (CPTW) has brought to newspaper pages and into public discussions trafficking stories similar to Mariana's.

Read another confession.

“When I was repatriated I didn't trust anyone and I was planning to take revenge on my own,” Eugenia says. “I started my search. But the qualified specialists from CPWT and the fact that everything we did here was confidential persuaded me to give up my plan and take the legal path.”

Thousands of women from Moldova go through painful situations like this one, while other people read about stories such as Mariana's and Eugenia's and pity the trafficked women. Compassion is a solution only when accompanied by action. In Moldova a series of actions are undertaken by the Centre for the Prevention of Human Trafficking, which was directly involved in Mariana's repatriation and her reintegration into society. Now the girl has free legal assistance, attends secretary courses, is about to marry and is proud of having had the courage to fight alongside the CPTW team to put the people who had trafficked her behind bars.

The first steps towards changing attitudes have been made in Moldova by the Centre for the Prevention of Trafficking in Women through information and education activities coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme and funded by the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. State Department. The Centre has developed a new model of services in Moldova , which combine legal and social assistance, and develop at the same time prevention through information and training.

The Centre for the Prevention of Trafficking in Women started working in 2001. Its main objective was to coordinate and implement information, education and trafficking prevention activities, as well as raise the population's awareness about this issue. The U.S. State Department offered a grant for the first stage of the project, later extending its support.

Today UNDP supports a series of specific activities carried out by CPTW. One of them, which currently may be the most important one in terms of impact in Moldova , is the representation of trafficking victims in criminal, civil and administrative law suits. The CPTW lawyers represent the victims' interests based on the legal provisions on the crime of trafficking stipulated by the Criminal Code, Civil Code, and the Code of Administrative Violations of the Republic of Moldova . The representation of interests takes place from the moment when a suit is filed and all the way to the court ruling, including all the stages of appeal. In special cases, when there is a threat to the life and health of the victims (usually in the form of threats from traffickers or pimps), CPTW provides a complex victim-witness protection programme to complement the measures provided by the state.

More than 140 trafficking victims identified or helped by the Centre for the Prevention of Trafficking in Women in 2004 have been represented by CPTW lawyers in 63 criminal and 12 civil suits. Traffickers received up to 15 years in prison, and victims received compensations for moral and material damages.

("New Horizons")