When Trust is Exploited: The story of Mitra

Mitra completely trusted her aunt, given that she was a close relative to her family. As a result, Mitra listened to her and moved to a neighbouring country for work.

Unbeknownst to Mitra, her aunt owned and managed a brothel. When Mitra found out, she attempted multiple escapes, or worse, suicide, but all the effort was in vain. With no power to run away, she compromised her control and exploitation, which came in the form of physical assault and sexual abuse. Her life contained nothing but agony.

After then, her aunt (the brothel owner) decided to further exploit the trust between Mitra and her other relatives. Mitra was forced to phone her cousins to persuade them to leave home for the same “work” opportunity. With the power of trust, her cousins believed it and fell into the same trap of being sold to the brothel.

We are thankful that Mitra was rescued out of it eventually. Despite leaving the brothel, Mitra was still left with much fear and pain from the tragic experiences. Our partner Eden Myanmar then reached out to Mitra and helped her walk out of the dark period with counselling and care. With the help, Mitra was able to see the value in life again and learn to survive with new skills. She is now a qualified jewellery product technician, making her own living and starting a new life.

For many rescued victims of human trafficking like Mitra, the damages are long-term after the ordeals. Instinctually, they become alert to, if not afraid of, the people surrounding them.

CEDAR works through Eden Myanmar, our partner in Myanmar, to provide holistic services for people who were trafficked, including trauma-informed cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) that helps them overcome traumatic experience; occupational and life-skills training that equips them for re-entering the society; medical assistance for women with HIV/AIDS, as well as backyard gardening training that enables them to provide for themselves once they return to their own villages.