Los Angeles, and the promise of $400 a week: what she could do with that! She could send money for her Babulya's surgery, learn English, and save up to study for medical school. Her dreams of becoming a doctor could come true! This chance had fallen into her lap, and she wasn't about to let it go. Besides, her aunt knew the agent. She would be a nanny for a family. It wouldn't be like those horrible ads for trafficking she always saw around the city.
Making her way into the country was nerve wracking, and the agent who met her at the border was exactly the kind of person she had feared. He took something from her that she can never get back. At least she had her fake passport, and her airplane ticket, and a vague idea of how to get through customs. She only had to get there, and everything would be okay. Right? The family would be okay.
Hannah arrived in Los Angeles, and was driven in a BMW to a two-story house in a perfectly normal looking neighborhood. This couldn't be a brothel, she told herself. There were teenagers living next door! While her apprehension is clear at first, it seems her own awkwardness is the cause for any ill will she garners from the mother of the house. She shouldn't have let the little girl eat chocolate. Ok, so it's true they aren't paying her what they promised...and she must now pay them back for her passage, but it did seem too good to be true to find a free ticket. It does make sense to stay inside, away from prying eyes. She wouldn't want to get picked up by the police and thrown in jail. It seems clear that Lillian is jealous of her, and expects her to make a play for her husband - but Hannah isn't like that! If only she could make her see...
At least she isn't one of those girls who is getting raped everyday. She is lucky to live with a family who cares for her, at least she thinks they do...if only she could get her letters to her Babulya and best friend. Communicating with people from home would do so much good.
It isn't the typical image of what we think of as a slave: she lives with them, cares for their children, cooks their meals, cleans their house...but what does she get in return? She is denied basic freedoms like leaving the house, spending money, any wages for her work, communication with the outside world or anyone from her old life, and soon the treatment gets worse. Two million people are affected by human trafficking worldwide each year. The author opens our eyes to a very real global issue in a new way. What does a slave look like?
*Library Link*
"The list went on. 'Number four-no telephone use. You don't have friends here, and it's too expensive to call Moldova.'If you liked this, check out:
Surely she'd make friends, Hannah thought, but whatever. She'd find a pay phone.
Number five-she could not take the children out of the house without permission, and she had to get permission if she wanted to leave the house herself.
That was crazy. She should be free to go if the work was done. 'Why?'
'We don't want you wandering around the neighborhood, announcing your presence. You are illegal, remember? If the police find out about you, they'll put you in jail.'
If she'd known about the fake documents from the beginning, she never would have come. 'Will I be able to go to school?'
'School? The student visa was only to get you in the country, and anyway, you've lost it. You didn't really think you'd have time to go to school, did you?' Lillian asked," (Purcell pg. 86, 2012).
Sold by Patrica McCormick
The Queen of Water by Laura Resau and Maria Virginia Farinango
Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World by Zach Hunter
Purcell, Kim. (2012). Trafficked. New York: Viking.
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