A woman sold herself to slave traders to find her daughter (6 photos)

A positive (meaning with a happy ending) story about a very brave woman from Bangladesh. No one could help her because her daughter had been kidnapped by human traffickers. So she came up with a bold plan – she sold herself to get to the same place where her daughter was.





Police report on missing person report

Asia is only 43, but her daughter Marium is already 16, so both she and her daughter were considered good merchandise by the criminals from the gang. She told the border guards at the India-Bangladesh border about what had happened to her only when she realized that it was all over and they were going home.

How it all happened

In January, Marium received a job offer from a man who knew the family. The job was near the Indian border. Since he was an acquaintance, the girl did not suspect anything. He even said that he would give her a ride to the place.

But he turned out to be a recruiter and handed her over to strangers halfway there. She was worried, but did not know what to do. At the border, it became clear that she had been kidnapped.



Photo from Asia's house, yes, we lived VERY poorly

- It was the middle of the night, they just pushed me into the boat. But I cried so much that I convinced the man at the helm to give me his mobile. He took pity, and I immediately called my mother that I had been kidnapped and was being secretly taken to India! - Marium herself said.

A few days later, Marium found herself in a brothel in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

Her mother immediately rushed to the police station and filed a report of the kidnapping. The police said they would look into it, but 40 days later the case had not moved forward.



The child could be sold and simply put to work at the factory

And already in February, Asiya simply contacted the man whose mobile phone the girl had called from by phone. That is, the police had information, they simply did not think to look for anyone.

Asiya lied to him that she also wanted to take the same job, for which he smuggled girls to India. And he believed her.

So Asiya withdrew all her savings of 60,000 taka and went to India.

- I hid the money under my wig and covered my head with a scarf. A few days later, I found myself in a brothel in New Delhi. But my daughter was not there. I learned that not all the girls are taken to the same place, - Asiya shared.



The police say that for some reason 70% of people do not report missing persons to the police, they are afraid

She was disappointed, but did not know what to do, and stayed there until June. Until her husband called (it turns out she had a husband and allowed this!) and said that Marium had contacted him through a client's phone and told him where she was. About 1,000 kilometers from where Asiya was.

And then she simply ran away from the brothel in the middle of the night. With the help of Marium's client and some locals, they were finally reunited in New Delhi.

"On the night of June 18, I got my daughter back. The brothel owner confessed that he bought my daughter for $3,404 in Bangladesh," Asiya said, citing the exact cost of a human life.

But it's not all lawlessness! They were caught and arrested after all... for trying to return home across the border. However, their story touched the police, so they were released, and the traffickers (not all of them) were caught.



Here are those same criminals, how thoughtfully everyone is wearing masks even during Covid

Those criminals admitted that they received $1,173-1,760 for each victim. That is, the mother bought her daughter at double the price.

At least 20,000 Bangladeshi women and children are victims of human trafficking every year across the poorly guarded border with India. Over the entire history of trafficking, the police have counted 500,000 Bangladeshi women in human trafficking. Most of them never return home. Only 2,000 women were able to return.



Map of how the illegal trade works

That's why Asia's heroic journey to save her daughter is rare.