“Do you really love us?”
This was a question directly put to me by a young woman in recovery from sex trafficking. I had the privilege of staying in an aftercare shelter for trafficked women in Bucharest, Romania.
Working with people who have been trafficking and chronically abused and exploited is not for the faint of heart. You just can’t go into it thinking you’ll be a hero. The questions like that rarely come so directly, but come each day in little moments of testing your heart. One must be able to “see them with the eyes of God” (R. Rohr) to see past their pain and their defenses, to see them at all.
I was having an informal discussion with them about their experience of adverse health experience, access to health care whilst in their trafficked situation as well as now in recovery. Most reported being beat up so badly they had to spend nights in a hospital, but other than that, rarely saw a doctor. About 50% of them either had children already or were currently pregnant. And those are just the highlights.
small group work in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
In all I spent nearly three weeks in Romania and Bulgaria working with organizations and assistance programs working with trafficked people. I attended and presented at the European Freedom Network conference in Bucharest. I stayed at shelter homes and spoke at gatherings organized by local churches and community groups. Travelling to different places, seeing the situations and meeting with people in situ – teaching and learning simultaneously. I presented workshops on health care of trafficked people, trauma-informed care, as well as self-care. I had the opportunity to hold many consultations with organizations to work on their specific questions and needs. It was exciting and refreshing to work with nationals who are hungry and passionate about making a difference for those who exist unseen and unheard in society.
In Bulgaria there is a growing network of organizations and individuals who are pursuing freedom on behalf of those who are not free. They are doing in the very non-glamorous work of prevention, some are doing outreach, while others are planning aftercare programs. Many are actually preparing their staff and developing protocols before they open (not often the case, unfortunately).
A wonderful Bulgarian partner!
Another exciting development is that a return trip to E. Europe, with a focus on Bulgaria, is already in the works. My partners there will be organizing seminars with more professionals including doctors, nurses, social workers, and law enforcement. The goal is to mobilize the professionals to see the stigmatized, prejudiced, and the unseen and to treat them as people in pain and not as criminals, degenerates, or unworthy of their care and attention.
Thank you to all of you who generously support Relentless. These opportunities are precious, and priceless (as a credit card company’s ad says), but they do cost money. Local Bulgarian organizations do not have the capital to sponsor my trips but it is a privilege to be able to continue to work with them.
Representatives from various organizations in Sofia thank you!
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