"The theme of the Holy Father's Message, 'God walks with his people,' resonates in my life. God has indeed walked with me, even through those I met along the way," Blessing Okoedion, a Nigerian, courageously recounted her story of surviving trafficking and sexual exploitation.

She spoke on June 3 at the Vatican Press Office during the presentation of Pope Francis' Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

"I was born and raised in Edo State, today generally considered the center of human trafficking in Nigeria," she recalled.

"Thousands of women and girls are recruited and forced into a life of abuse, debt, humiliation, violence, exploitation, and, above all, silence," she added.

The path to rebirth

Like many other women victims of trafficking, "I too was deceived and brought to Europe in 2013, where I was taken to a street and put up for sale. I was asked to repay a 'debt' of 65,000 euros," she continued.

"To the exploiters, you are merchandise for sale to speculate on and profit from; to the buyers of sex, you are merchandise to be bought and used for their pleasure, imposing violence on you that is 'justified' by the use of money," she explained.

Thanks to education "which allowed me to know my fundamental rights, and thanks to God who gave me strength and courage, I managed to escape and report" the exploiters.

After reporting, "I was taken to an anti-trafficking center: Casa Rut in Caserta, where I met Sister Rita Giaretta, now responsible for Casa Magnificat in Rome, who accompanied me on a path of rebirth and helped me rediscover myself."

For Blessing, Sister Rita, "who welcomed and loved me," is "one of those good Samaritans the Pope speaks of."

"People often talk about voluntariness, they talk about prostitution as the oldest profession in the world, but we forget the vulnerability of thousands of girls, young women, and women, who come from difficult contexts and are not free but reduced to slavery," she said.

As Pope Francis says, "migrants often flee from situations of oppression and abuse, insecurity and discrimination, lack of development prospects," and "it is the same for trafficking victims," Blessing testified, noting that "we should better understand and know the situation of the victims, where they come from, and the conditions of misery, degradation, and lack of opportunities that push them to leave their countries."

In her view, "we should also listen more to the survivors of human trafficking, their experiences of fear and pain, but also of resistance and courage in the destination countries where they are exploited."

"It was the pain and understanding of what I had to endure that made me decide to come forward, telling my story in the book 'The Courage of Freedom,' and to commit myself as a cultural mediator. But it was also the relationship I had with Sister Rita that pushed me to do so," she said.

"Traffickers dehumanize and objectify their victims, resulting in a loss of self-esteem and control over their own lives, freedom, and dignity," she said. "Sister Rita helped me regain confidence in myself and others, resume my studies, and start working as a cultural mediator and interpreter."

Weavers of Hope

Blessing's decision to get back into the game, tell her story, and fight human trafficking led to the creation of an association, 'Weavers of Hope,' which "I founded with other African women who survived human trafficking."

Thanks to the association, 150 girls and women have been helped from 2018 to today to escape sexual exploitation and start a path of social and work reintegration.

"We are not ashamed to be called survivors of sexual exploitation because, with our testimony, we want any girl in Nigeria to have the hope of continuing to dream and for those still victims to find the courage to escape."

In 2022, Blessing graduated in Political Science and International Relations from the Orientale of Naples, with a thesis on the reintegration of Nigerian women victims of trafficking in Italy.

"The stories reveal that there is still much to be done so that these women can truly lead an independent life without the risk of falling back into the hands of traffickers. For this reason, I feel that my and our commitment is absolutely urgent and fundamental," she concluded.

Story by Fausto Gasparroni