Approximately three weeks ago, I was in a situation and place that could only be described as dejavu.

You know that weird feeling where you are experiencing something now that you could swear has happened before. If only it had been dejavu.

This was far worse because it was a replica of my first experience going out with the social workers and staff of “Straatwerk” one night in 2010 to try and rescue a girl we had heard was being held against her will in a flat in Bellville.

Straatwerk was an amazing organisation that did amazing work in trying to help prostitutes come off the game and the streets about a decade ago.

And here I was ten years later with our social worker and a number of our Community Engagement Officers trying to rescue two young girls we had been told were being held against their will.

I decided to do what I remember being done ten years ago.

Lure the woman who “looks after the girls” out of the flat, having arranged with the girls who alerted us to the fact that two of the girls inside were there against their will, to help us get these girls out.

As had happened ten years ago, a visit to the police station had left me disillusioned. Having been told to “tell us something we don't know. There are prostitutes in half the flats in Bellville and they waste our time. When push comes to shove, no one wants to lay a charge”, we decided to go and see whether we could get the girls out ourselves.

An hour later, we all stood outside the Bellville library in the parking lot thanking our lucky stars we had managed to get the girls out without incident.

I thought of the girls that helped us staying behind but was told not to worry. “They are veterans and won't be messed with”. I reluctantly stop my objections.

We arranged for these two girls, who left Pretoria for the promise of modelling and tv work in Cape Town, to go back home. Our social worker had arranged for a colleague in Pretoria to continue seeing the girls.

Out of the blue, we had a call from that social worker last week. In her session with the girls that morning, they had apparently become emotional and hysterical and revealed that there were two very young girls being held in a field in Bellville near the station in a hokkie and they also divulged that the girls had given them their moms' cell number just before they were taken from the hokkie to the flat where we rescued them from .

We decided to go to the approximate area they spoke of but couldn't see any structures.

They gave us more information and at around 19h00, we found a hidden structure. Lying inside were two girls. They were tied to one another with handcuffs at the wrists and at the ankles and then to a heavy duty tent peg hammered deep into the ground. Most of us couldn't help but get emotional at the sight. It was obvious someone had been there to feed them not too long before.

We got them loose and rushed away in case we got caught although there was no one in sight.

We tried to convince them to go to the police. They refused. They were 13 and 14. We called the flabbergasted mom and got her onto a bus to Cape Town. She arrived just after 9am.

I went online to raise funds to get them back to Jeffreys Bay.

The mom and the girls just wanted to leave Cape Town as soon as possible. There was an atmosphere of nervous tension and dread and I suddenly realised I might have endangered them all by posting about what was happening on social media. But we had no other way of getting them back home.

We decided to alter the station and time of their departure as well as their arrival. The mom made arrangements to be collected at a point before the Jeffreys Bay drop off station.

We also arranged for two of our CEOs to travel with them.

They arrived home safely and we have arranged for support services and trauma counselling for them.

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, and it’s more common than most of us realize. It’s a hidden crime, meaning victims usually aren’t able or willing to come forward and seek help, or share their experiences after they escape.

Trafficking is hard to recognise, and perpetrators are difficult to catch.

Trafficking has a two-directional relationship with homelessness.

Youth who are homeless are at a highly increased risk of being trafficked. Conversely, experiencing human trafficking places youth at a greater risk for becoming homeless.

The added vulnerability that comes with homelessness makes these victims even more invisible.

It’s important for us to understand the relationship between these two issues so we can address the unique struggles and challenges victims face.

The reason marginalised youth often become trafficked is because they are vulnerable. Not all victims were kidnapped before being trafficked; some enter willingly. Sometimes they’re desperate for relief from their suffering. Pimps offer the basic necessities that marginalized youth need, like food and shelter.

Many pimps groom their victims or lead them to believe they’re romantically interested in them. Companionship is another basic need that many marginalized youths crave. Many were abused or neglected and may have been in the foster care system.

Pimps often start out as significant others or close friends. They then coerce victims into trafficking after a relationship is established.

LGBTQIA+ youth are particularly at risk.

Above all, pimps offer marginalised youth the hope of a way out of their situation. The sad reality is that they know what makes people most vulnerable and exploit it.

Because traffickers are so knowledgeable about what makes young people vulnerable, we need to be even more so, in order to protect youth before they fall prey.

Many trafficked youths are not able to escape due to threats from their traffickers.

Pimps may threaten the victim or the victim’s friends and family for thoughts of leaving. Victims will choose to stay rather than risk the safety of their loved ones. There is often psychological and emotional abuse as well, as traffickers will manipulate their victims into believing no one else cares for or loves them.

Other victims have a hard time choosing to leave even if they want to because of the same factors that brought them into trafficking and could have even fewer resources than before. They fear being re-victimized and ending up in an even worse situation.

Human trafficking survivors and escapees have a difficult time finding resources. There is a gap in services for this population, which worsens the problem two-fold.

Trafficking survivors already fear being labeled as prostitutes or criminals. In many cases, sadly, their fears are justified. Secondly, when there are not services specifically for victims of human trafficking, victims feel even more isolated and invisible.

Human trafficking victims do not have many resources devoted specifically to them. Due to the overwhelming amount of trauma that survivors go through, they often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. They need therapy and support groups. Substance abuse issues are also common and may require separate programs

Human trafficking will continue to be a hidden crime until we create a public environment in which survivors feel comfortable and safe opening up about their experiences.

Understanding the circumstances surrounding entry into trafficking, and the realities of what life inside trafficking is like, helps us be empathetic and avoid us making judgments.

* Mesquita is a previously homeless man and founder of Outsider an organisation focused on enlightening people on homelessness and on accommodating those living on the streets in a dignified and sustainable manner. He can be reached at therehomingcollectivenpccarlos@gmail.com or 071 341 3378.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

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