Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave (24 page)

Being called “stupid girl” for many years damaged my self-esteem. Words can be hurtful, and if you hear hurtful words directed at you over a long period of time, something inside you begins to believe them. Because of that, the way I walked and moved indicated my total submission to the members of my captor family.

How the person speaks is another sign. Most people enslaved here in the United States have been brought here illegally from other countries. The slave might not understand English, so the people around her speak to her in another language. If you approached her to ask a question, she might give you a frightened or confused look, then someone else, maybe a captor, would answer on her behalf. He might tell you she is deaf, autistic, nonverbal, or visiting from another country—any story to deflect your interest and suspicion.

I learned early on that I was never to speak unless I was spoken to first, and then I was only to answer the question, or indicate that I understood the instruction. Any other communication could earn me a slap, and chitchat was out of the question.

The group of people the person is with is another indicator that something might be wrong. Do others speak to the person in a rude and demanding manner? Do they never include the person in conversation? Do these people act in a way that seems entitled? Do they act superior to everyone else? If so, these people might be like The Mom and The Dad. They could be captors, and guilty of illegal human trafficking or holding someone against their will.

Never have I met another person who behaved in such an entitled way as The Mom did. Nothing was ever good enough for her, and she made that clear to whoever was in the house, even when friends of the family came to stay. Captors often feel they deserve better than anyone else, and that attitude shows in everything they do.

Keeping odd hours is another indicator. I believe the person who called about me had seen me repeatedly late at night washing dishes. If you see a child at a time when you shouldn’t, or in a place where a child should not be, or doing an activity a child should not be doing, that should be a red flag. The same goes for adults. Odd activity, odd hours should be noted.

The final major sign is the person’s speech. Not the language they speak—although, not knowing English or not speaking it can be an indicator—but how they speak is important. If the person you think is being held in bondage does not look at you when you or others speak to him, if he mumbles or seems fearful when spoken to, that could be an indicator that something is wrong.

On the day I was rescued, I knew three words in English: “hi,” “dolphin,” and “stepsister.” I now believe my captors intentionally kept anything from me that might teach me the language, because knowledge of English could have given me some power. Something captors do well is keep their slaves powerless.

It is important to know that none of these factors, either individually or together, necessarily mean that a person is being held against their will. I am sure there are many people who have all of these factors who are not toiling away in slavery. But they could be. It is possible that they could be, and it’s that fact that is critical. If you think someone is being held, you then have to decide what to do. Will you do the right thing, or the wrong? If you do nothing and the person is in need of help, that would be a tragedy. You might be that person’s only hope. You might be the only person who notices that something is off. You could be the person who changes someone else’s life for the better.

On the other hand, if you say something and the person turns out to be happy, healthy, and interacting of their own free will with the people they live and work with, then all that has been lost is some of your time and the time of a few people from your local police or social services department. Even though many of the people at these departments are overworked and the departments are often understaffed, my experience has been that helping a person out of bondage is something they absolutely want to do.

If you are not sure if someone is being held, a private discussion with people you trust is always a good idea. If you have surrounded yourself with good people, then they will most likely give you good advice. If not, find someone you trust: a teacher, counselor, pastor, or family friend.

If you decide that action is in order, the first step is to call the non-emergency line for your local police department. Then give the dispatcher a brief rundown of the situation. You could say, for example, “I think my neighbors are involved in human trafficking and slavery, because I regularly see a child working in the house late at night. This child never goes to school, and on the rare times when I have seen her in the yard, she acts as if she does not speak or understand English.”

Those words are probably similar to the words that were used to bring attention to my captors and to me. It’s only a few sentences, and you can remain anonymous if you want.

What happens next will probably depend on what state you live in and the specific circumstances about the people in question. Is the suspected slave a child or an adult? What is the person being held in bondage being forced to do? What are their living conditions? Do they speak English? Are they United States citizens? The answers to these questions, along with many more, will determine the next course of action.

More than likely some member of law enforcement will interview you either by phone or in person. Your information will then be included in their investigation. It may take many weeks, but when officials are sure, they will plan a rescue, and possibly an arrest. You, however, may never know the details, or the result.

When I was rescued, I had no idea that people who worked for the United States government had been planning for weeks to rescue me. What I knew at the time was that people came into the house, and one of them pulled me out. I did not know that many carefully detailed plans had been made, along with contingencies. If The Dad did or said this, then officials would move here and do that. If The Mom was home, then people would move to this specific location inside the house. My rescuers planned for every possibility to make my rescue as safe as it could be for me.

I was beyond terrified when I was rescued. For years I had been told that if the police came to get me, bad things would happen, things that were far worse than what I’d lived with every day. Plus, bad things would happen to my family back in Egypt. That’s why I was mistrustful and afraid to admit anything to my rescuers about my circumstances. Ten years later I am still slow to trust, and may always be. Many rescued slaves are like this. They don’t know whom to trust and, like me at that point in time, may know nothing about the customs or legal system in the United States.

Living in bondage might be all the person can remember. He or she might be frightened to be out of captivity and not know which end is up. They need time. It was only around those few people who gently, constantly, and consistently asked if I was okay, if I needed anything, that I let my guard down.

Mark Abend was one of these people. He acted like he cared, and over time I realized that he truly did. But a former slave won’t come to that conclusion quickly. She won’t be pressured. She won’t operate on your time frame. She might not even be cooperative—at first. If she is lucky enough to have quality people around her as I did, then she will come around. Eventually.

After I was rescued and had time to think, I made a decision. I knew I could do one of two things. I could become a helpful resource to my rescuers and move on with my life, or draw into myself and become a victim. I wanted a full life. I wanted to live, to leave my past in the past, so for me there was only one choice. God was part of my decision too. I felt in my heart that He had worked hard to get me rescued, so I needed to honor His work by making as much out of my life as I could. And I have.

More than seventeen thousand new slaves are brought into the United States every year. And more are being rescued than ever before. That’s why it is important to know that a rescued slave could show up in your school, workplace, or neighborhood. That person is going to need a lot of love, care, and patience.

If your path crosses that of a former slave in a legal, professional, or friendship capacity, I hope you understand that they may not want to talk about it. Instead of pushing, be tolerant. Be kind and caring. Most of all, be a friend, because you may be the only friend this newly rescued person has.

I am lucky to have found wonderful friends who have become my surrogate family. These people are small in number but huge in heart, and I trust them completely. That is something I could not have done a few short years ago. I look at my life now and see only a future where I will do even more to stop human trafficking. If this book leads to even a single rescue, then my time in bondage was worth it.

I believe there is a reason, a purpose, for everything in this life, and I know that my purpose is to help put a permanent stop to this terrible crime. With the help of your vigilant eyes and ears, every child, every person, can live a wonderful life of their own choosing. I not only believe this
can
happen. I believe it will.

The day before I took
my citizenship test, I realized I was pregnant. Talk about a nerve-wracking day! I was already nervous about taking the test. Much rested on my becoming a citizen. One way or another I was going into law enforcement to help catch other human traffickers and also help people like me who have been held in bondage. But first I had to become a citizen of the United States.

If the test weren’t enough stress, realizing that I was pregnant put my emotions completely over the top. My relationship with Daniel had become quite serious, but like many young people, we had not planned a pregnancy. I was concerned about what his reaction to the news might be and I was anxious about how the pregnancy would affect my rheumatoid arthritis.

Amber was the first person I called. She came over and we got five different pregnancy tests—to be absolutely sure. All were positive. Now that I knew for sure that a baby was on the way, Amber helped me focus on the most immediate issue, passing my citizenship test. I would still be pregnant after the test, and could deal with my feelings about it at that time. We spent the rest of the evening studying.

The next day I realized that Amber was right. After I passed my test, I took time to make more sense of what was going on inside my body. At this time Daniel and I had been dating for about nine months. We were still trying to sort out what our future was long term. How would the baby affect that? I wondered.

My pregnancy is proof that the only surefire method of birth control is abstinence, so I hope young men and women who read this book consider that before they let hormones and young love take over. A baby is an expensive responsibility—one that changes your life, usurps your time, and keeps you from fun times with your friends. But I knew right away that I was up for it. I wanted to keep my baby.

Part of my decision was based on the fact that I did not want to do to my son or daughter what my parents had done to me. I could not imagine anyone else raising my child, and I knew from that point on that even though I was going to have a career in law enforcement, my life was now dedicated to the best interests of my child.

I was quite nervous regarding my potential parenting skills because I didn’t have too many positive mom role models to draw from. But Amber, Teresa, Karla, PaNou, and my other friends made me understand that what I needed to do was act out of love. Love was what drove a mother’s instinct and was what would carry a family through. That, along with a few parenting books!

I didn’t tell Daniel for several weeks because it took that long for me to process this little surprise. I also went to the doctor before I told him. That way I would have all the facts I needed to pass along to him. When I finally broke the news, Daniel went through the same gamut of emotions that I had, including shock, nervousness, and fear.

On top of starting to integrate the idea of a baby into our lives, we had to figure out what to do about us. We decided that when my lease ran out on my apartment, I would move in with him. Daniel had recently bought a three-bedroom home. He didn’t have any furniture yet, so when we moved mine in, the house looked great.

By the time I was four months along, we had both adjusted to the idea of coparenting our baby. Daniel’s large family was supportive, as were my friends. I began to feel much calmer about my ability to parent a child and about the future of Daniel and me as a couple. By my fourth-month appointment Daniel and I were beyond thrilled to see the shape of our little girl on the ultrasound. We stared and stared at the image on the monitor. This was our baby!

People have told me what wise choices I have made in my friends, and my friends do encourage me a lot. Anything I need, no matter what it is, they are there to help. Daniel is the same way. He is truly one in a million and started becoming an active dad well before Athena was born. He read many books on pregnancy and babies, and about becoming a dad. He went to every doctor’s appointment with me and was kind and caring on days when I was not feeling well.