A Survivor’s Account of Human Trafficking

After she was promised a job by an old friend in Delhi, Khalih, a young Kenyan woman, travelled to India. But she ended up being kidnapped by a sex-trafficking ring. She writes about how she survived the experience.

Written by Khalih Khalih

Jun 8, 2021

Photo courtesy of Khalih.

My name is Khalih, an African Kenyan girl raised in a very humble and Christian family. There are six in our family, I being the fifth born child. I was born and brought up in a ghetto- Majengo in Thika, Kenya, and life there was a real struggle for everyone, not only my family. Surviving was the only thing we prayed for since we didn’t know any other life. My parents toiled to make ends meet, and I thank God that we managed to finish high school even though we were six in our family. Sometimes we stayed home for two terms without attending school, and the funny thing about everything was that we were still enrolled in the following classes. ‘Kumaliza shule tu ndio muhimu,’ we used to say, so at times, we would go home for lunch and end up drinking water and going back to school on empty stomachs.

‘LIFE WAS HARD’

I dated this guy since I was in high school and even after high school. Mungai was his name. At the age of 23, I got pregnant. We were blessed with a bouncing baby boy. Even though we used to stay together under one roof, I can’t call it marriage. Because we knew nothing about marriage, we only managed three years together of which was not easy. Mungai, now Baba Jabali, started drinking alcohol too much to the point that he was uncontrollable. He became violent, and I had no option other than to move out; by this time, my son was two years. I moved into a small single room, which was small enough for two of us, and at least it was peaceful.

But life was hard. I remember very well that it was a Thursday when I was coming from my son’s school. I met this charming man, Charles, uncle to Hamisa, whom we grew up together, so he was about my age, mate. We chatted, and he told me about Hamisa, and he gave me her number. The same day in the evening, I communicated with Hamisa and told her I got her number from her uncle. We really chatted that evening until late since we had not talked to each other for a very long time. She told me about the ‘kuomoka’ life she was living and gave me ideas on how she will help me get a job abroad...

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About the Author

Khalih Khalih

is a survivor of human trafficking in Kenya, Africa. Her story does not define who she is but she uses it to create awareness about human trafficking and give hope to those who underwent or are still going through the same ordeal she went through. Her favourite quote is ‘Fear is the most complex emotion that we all have to deal with in our everyday life’.

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A Survivor’s Account of Human Trafficking

‘LIFE WAS HARD’

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