It takes so much courage for survivors to
speak out and tell their stories.
For one, they are afraid of the
traffickers finding them, but two,
it brings up alot of really really hard
memories. And so I feel privilaged to
hear a survivor story and know that just
by telling their story, they trust me
enough to hold it for them.
[MUSIC]
My name is Lorena. I'm from Philippines.
My name is Othaya Kante Saldado.
I'm from Sri Lanka.
My name is Thige.
I'm from Eritrea, Asmara.
My name is Flora and I'm from
Pablo, Mexico.
My name is Jason Gusman and
I am from the Philipinnes.
So my name is Pichai.
My name is Suchai.
[MUSIC]
I was promised a good job for the house
and didn't have to worry about anything.
She said, "you can come with me and work
with me in restaurant. I have restaurant.
I- I pay you alot of money."
I thought it was a great opportunity to
come over here and work in the
United State. Because everyone in the
Philippines like when they heard America
they wanna go- they wanna come here.
[MUSIC]
I wasn't able to talk to anybody. I was
forbidden to put one step out of the shop.
We sleep on the floor. Yes.
I feel numb because I don't know what do,
I don't know how to do it.
I had to work 17 hours a day,
seve- seven days a week.
I wasn't able to talk to my co-workers.
Sometime I feel like I wanna kill myself
because it was to painful like it's really
it's really like hurt- it's- it's really
like you know hurtful how you see-
how you see treat me. I don't know.
Where am I gonna go. I don't have anyone.
I don't have any money even though she
promise me to pay me like 150 dollars
a month but I did not get that money.
My trafficker often said that girls have
more rights in the United States than
I did. She said, "if I kill a dog I would
get in trouble but if I kill you nobody
is going to know and nobody is going
to care.
She took my passport. I can go.
I feel afraid. Because I don't know
where to go. No passport how can I go back
to Thailand. Yeah. I- I don't know-
I don't know how to go.
I don't know friend. No friend.
Just friendly with in her house.
The trafficker said, if I tell anybody
what was going on, nobody will
believe me. And if I go to the police,
they will not believe me. They will put
me in jail and she- she knew where my
children were and I didn't want to risk
my children.
What she always said that you can't go
nowhere. You belong to me.
[MUSIC]
The day that I was escape, umm, the- the
woman who helped me like took me to CAST
the same day and uh, since then CAST
help me alot with, you know, shelter,
with food, with money, with anything that
I need to get on my feet.
They brought you like who was gonna help
you to talk or interpreter. Like if you
need something.
For the blanket, for the clothes,
they give me alot.
Encouraging me to do something like
encouraging me like to go to school.
And the CAST help you to know your right.
And they- they make me very strong and
independent person.
CAST open door for me. CAST take me
at Alexandra House. CAST take me school,
now I speak English alittle bit.
CAST has, uh, helped me through
everything.
[MUSIC]
When I spoke like with the congressman
or with senator like when we went
to Washington DC. I feel like am very
important person.
We went to Sacramento and we got the
regulations passed. So now thanks to the
green card campaign, we are, uh, green
card holders.
I want to be the voice of, um, the fixer
because I know how it feels to be in
that situation.
In this country, you know, people has
a voice no matter who you are even though
you are a slave.
We all know we've been- we've been, uh,
been enslaved and now we survived.
Even though we passed like, but we always
talk about that and we're still sharing.
[MUSIC]
Free it's, uh, it means alot to me. Like-
like when you're free, when you became
a free, you- it feels like you're
a new born child.
Freedom for me is really special thing
for me because I never have freedom
in my life.
When I- when I was free, I was scared but
I was so happy.
Am happy now because I have everything.
I go to school. I have job.
I have green card. I- I- everything.
I'm happy.
Yes, I love freedom. Anybody love freedom.
I- am proud of myself. I was a slave
and now I'm survivor, I'm activist and
I'm a mother.
Freedom is everything to me. This is,
you know, everyone deserve to have, uh,
freedom. It's free.
I wanna be part of it. I wanna be part
of the mission to end slavery. I wanna be
part of the making of the history of end
slavery for good.
And the CAST, uh, help me become
an independent- become like a real man.
[MUSIC]
At CAST we have the previlege of working
directly with victims, who then transform
and become survivors after going through
our critical programs.
And that's important because we are able
to use those experiences and help
survivors become leaders and powerful
agents of change to impact
systemic social change.
Who better to inform us how to end modern
day slavery than survivors themselves.
When survivors tell us they're now happy,
we know we've done our job at CAST.