Fata*, originally from Conakry, arrived in Spain at the beginning of 2017 and settled in Barcelona that summer. She left Guinea in March 2016 and went to Tunis to work as a domestic worker, but was exploited by her wealthy employer, who became violent and threatened to send her back home. She fled, crossing the Mediterranean to Italy, then traveled through France before finally reaching Spain, first in Madrid and then Barcelona.

"When I was a young teenager, I didn't want to leave, but when you reach adulthood, you want a better future, you want to make your dreams come true and for me, in Guinea, that wasn't possible. My family is poor. I didn't want to stay in that situation and I wanted to help my family have a better life. One day in January 2016, I spoke to several people who told me about jobs in Tunisia and Morocco to work as a cleaner or domestic worker, and I was put in touch with someone who quickly offered me a job in Tunis, with a wealthy businessman. My family and friends managed to raise money so that I could leave, and after a few weeks, I found myself in Tunis, at the end of March.

But my arrival in Tunisia quickly turned sour. My employer was nice to me for a few days, took my passport and after only a week, became very violent. He threatened to send me home if I spoke or if I didn't do what he told me. I couldn't sleep anymore, I was scared all the time, I wanted to leave at all costs. I endured it for a few months, I saved some money and I approached someone who told me that he would help me go to Europe, and that I would be helped there. I saw it as a way out, my only way out, because I couldn't go back to Guinea since my whole family was counting on me to help them.

'It was the end of our ordeal, but the beginning of another'

One evening in October, I ran away from the residence of this rich man. For a few days, I wandered the streets of Tunis and five days later, I found myself with about thirty people and we boarded an old boat, I had the scare of my life during this crossing. Everyone was frightened, the boat was rocking a lot and some people fell overboard. We saw people drowning, left in the sea. We heard the screams and we could not do anything because we were all in shock. We must have lost seven or eight people during the crossing, and it was raining a lot with a very strong wind that could have capsized us at any moment. I do not know how we got there, but we were then rescued by the Italian coastguard and we were disembarked in Lampedusa. It was the end of our ordeal and the beginning of another.

Less than a week later, I was transferred to the continent, to Calabria, and we were taken care of by the Italian authorities. But we didn't know what would happen to us, we were afraid of being deported or imprisoned. I decided, with a few people I had met since my arrival in Italy, to head north and try to get to France. We took a bus one night and arrived in Milan, where we were homeless for several days. We then slept in an apartment under renovation with other African migrants and after a few days, someone came to see us and offered us work. We accepted immediately because we were paid in cash at the end of each day and we could try to get out of our misery. We cleaned people's homes during the day and from time to time in bars or nightclubs after they closed at night. That's where I met this man who asked me if I wanted to go to France and then to Spain to work in nightlife. He told me that I was beautiful, and that I would earn money easily by being in the world of nightlife. In mid-November, I was on the Côte d’Azur working as a waitress at private parties where rich people were partying in fancy villas. I was amazed, it was crazy.

I thought that this would open doors for me and that this man would help me get immigration status and regularize my situation. What followed was the beginning of my downfall. At the beginning of 2017, he took me to Madrid, where I did the same thing, then a little before the start of summer, I left for Barcelona, ​​where I found myself with a few other girls in an apartment. They brought us food, they gave us money, and after a few days, we were invited to a private party outside the city. Men wanted to sleep with us and some of us refused. They were deported and I never heard from them again. I had no choice but to accept, and without wanting to, I entered prostitution. It was a shock, but I was afraid of this man, and I wanted to continue to help my family back home.

I lived that summer of 2017 like the beginning of a nightmare. I had to earn money because this man threatened us with deportation and I had to spend the night outside and sleep with men. I was afraid, I was beaten, and I was abused several times, but I kept quiet because I was afraid. Almost all the money I earned, I sent back home to help my family who did not know what I was doing. I told them that I was cleaning, that I was doing multiple jobs to earn as much money as possible to help them, and try to regularize my situation, to study nursing, my childhood dream. Summer in Barcelona, ​​the tourists who come in droves, the parties, it's an explosive cocktail for prostitutes. It traumatized me for life.

'Caught in this vicious circle'

I was caught in this vicious circle. Prostitution is worse than anything. For so many years, I isolated myself mentally so as not to go crazy, so as not to commit suicide. It crossed my mind, but I knew that if I ended my life, my family would collapse in every sense of the word. So I kept on, I was a sex worker for almost five years, and I feel like I'm now worn out by life. It was very hard, especially during the summer. It was hell every day, every night, and I was so afraid for my life. I found myself in situations I didn’t know how I was going to get out of. I don’t think I’ll ever really recover from those years, I’ll never be the same person again, but I want to move on. I was able to save some money, but what I earned will never make up for what I went through.

With over 15 million tourists visiting its famous east coast between Barcelona and Alicante during the summer, Spain is a top destination for travelers from across Europe and North America. However, according to various associations and government-linked organizations, the number of people exploited by prostitution networks rises sharply during this period. The number of cases and arrests between July and September increases dramatically (by a factor of 40, according to a police source), though the actual figures are believed to be much higher. "We are struggling to contain this phenomenon, which involves cases of pimping, human trafficking in the sex industry, and violence against these mostly undocumented migrants," a police source who works on this situation on the east coast of the country told InfoMigrants.

One day, in the fall of 2022, I went to see a local association helping migrants and told my story to a volunteer. I couldn't go on like this, I was exhausted, broken. This person reached out to me, and quickly, I received help, a place in a social center to house me, and I told my pimp that I was quitting. He asked me to pay him, and to disappear. I left him the last three months of my "wages" to regain my freedom. But it was not without consequences, to say the least. I took a few weeks to rest, but I was still afraid because I did not know what I was going to do after this destructive experience. Above all, I am in an irregular situation in Spain. So I suggested to associations that work in Barcelona but also on the entire east coast of Spain, that I would help them do prevention, to help exploited migrant women in prostitution. I got out of prostitution to now help my sisters get out of this cycle.

I am helped by several people to make ends meet and survive, and a procedure is underway to try to regularize my situation. I am waiting, in fear, because I could be sent back any time, but I have to do everything to stay because I do not want to return to the country. With these associations, we tour the most active points of Barcelona, ​​but also other cities like Valencia, or Alicante, Benidorm which are very touristy. I try to talk, to make contact with women in prostitution. It is often difficult because they are afraid, but some people feel that I am someone they can trust, and that helps me a lot. I was able to convince several people to stop doing this, it is a small victory each time but the task is immense. We receive threats and pressure from certain people who profit from crime, and on several occasions, I have been advised not to do what I do, but I will not give up."

*Her name was changed to protect her anonymity.