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Survivor

My Story of Surviving Human Trafficking

By Megan B.Published 4 years ago 4 min read
Grand Canyon August 2020

I am a survivor of human trafficking, child neglect and abuse. My parents abused drugs and alcohol, often leaving me and my siblings to fend for ourselves until I was adopted at age 9 by the people I call my parents.

I grew up in Suburbia of Sacramento, California. I went to all the summer camps you could imagine, had good grades in school, a loving adopted family that I call my own, and wasn’t much in to boys or dating. At 19 years old, in 2009, I was just a naive college girl during a recession. I met my trafficker, who had come into my job, tipped a lot of money, talked a smooth game and I opened up about my past. He seemed to understand and be sympathetic. I was really just showing him how weak I was. I was far too trusting.

He lured me up to Lake County, California, stating I could make money doing side jobs. I thought he wanted to date me, and I really did make money at first, until I moved up there. Money sounded nice with how bad the economy was. What he really wanted a servant. I was trapped there by force and fear. I was assaulted, threatened, and forced to do manual labor in the black market marijuana industry. I was a servant to his mother, grandmother and friends. His grandmother had me sign up for food stamps so they could get food in the fridge and thought it was the least I could do for the roof over my head. His grandmother also claimed me as a dependent so she would get a bigger tax return. I didn't actually get to eat the food. He had me get a few jobs here and there when he didn’t have money, and he spent my paychecks, then I would quit.

He had all the nicest things, and I had to sell everything I owned, including my coin collection I’d collected from my grandmother’s world traveling. It broke my heart.

He started to become very violent and abusive. In a relationship, there is "I love yous" and "honey" and "babe." There was none of that. Five years of being called only by your last name and living in a shed the size of a bathroom. Being woken every morning up with what you would do that day, and getting paid nothing. Being told that if you didn’t do it well “I can find someone else who will, who would be grateful for the roof over their head.” Someone sitting in on your phone calls, even sitting in your families home with you to make sure you never said anything to incriminate them. Being given a time limit on how long you could spend in their home. Being pulled over and praying the cops took him to jail for something so you could run away while he was in, but him never getting caught. Someone who beat you within an inch of your life and said “I can’t kill you because your parents would wonder where you were.” I was allowed to eat once a day and I was 110 pounds standing at 5'6". I had been taken over by Stockholm Syndrome, and the abuse got worse and worse. He was starting to leave bruises, and permanent damage to my body. This continued until the day he almost killed me and I knew I had to get out if I wanted to live.

July 25th 2015 was the scariest day of my life and the day I gained ultimate freedom. I woke up, and during the middle of my day decided that's the last time I'd wake up in that place and I made the absolute scariest decision in my life. I had spent one year planning. I left with whatever fit in the bed of my friend's truck. I call her my friend now but that day was the first day we met. I had no money. He knew my bank account password and the passwords to all my social media. He had threatened to kill my family and my friends if they tried to help me. I remember sweating all day, couldn't eat anything because I knew what I was about to do. But I did it and got away. The next few months were even scarier and I was being stalked around town and harassed in a desperate attempt to make me go back. I got a restraining order and standing in court was equally as scary with no one by my side. I lived in fear until I was able to move and come to Sonoma County. Even then, the first few months wasn’t easy. Seeing a vehicle that looked like his, or someone that looked like him walking into my job, or a random car parked in front of my house would put me on edge.

Since finding peace, my life has changed drastically and now I only feel a sense of empowerment. I am surrounded by people who support me and love me for me, and I have joined outreach to help other victims! So many wonderful things that have come into my life. I have to think of what I HAVE accomplished.

One of God’s signs came to me in the summer of 2016. I was doing community service at the hospice thrift store and behind the counter I saw a necklace my aunt gave me at 8 years old that I had sold to pay the PG&E bill in 2013, and I bought it back. I went home and cried my eyes out and that’s when I realized I needed to do more than just be the girl that survived I needed to be the girl that THRIVED.

I went back to school and graduated the EMT program at College of Marin, then started my major in Administration of Justice. My next step is going into some type of public safety work to help other women and victims of the things I’ve experienced.

My hope is that one day my trafficker will have to answer for what he's done. But the biggest victory has been my success and the fact that I did not let this ruin my life. I am doing positive, good things, and helping others.

Thank you for reading

innocence

About the Creator

Megan B.

Nationally Registered EMT, Human Trafficking Survivor, Educator & Business Owner . Currently working for a BA in criminal justice, while enjoying surf fishing, hiking with my dogs, and authoring my story for future publication.

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    Megan B.Written by Megan B.

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