Ana's story

"Ana*'s back home!" our volunteer D excitedly reported as we met last week. "She actually called from a international phone number!"

Anna is from a small village in Eastern Europe, but we met her here in an ugly brothel. Over the last couple of months, she's opened up to our volunteer about how she got here. A boyfriend that she believed loved her after a year together, a need for a job, lack of job options in her village, and friends who had already migrated to Spain, Italy and Greece.

The problem is that we were never sure if, when and where we would see Anna again. Once she entrusted us with her phone number, we were able to contact her more regularly. Our volunteer D kept contacting her to see if we could help her get out.

But then she called when the police had arrested her. She had to stay overnight in jail, and we couldn't visit her, especially since our volunteer D traveled out of Athens. So another volunteer V who spoke her language offered to go to the courts to support her, even though she hadn't any idea what Ana looked like.

At the courts where women are tried for prostitution, it is so chaotic. All the crowds that we see in Omonoia - drug users, dealers, petty criminals, and the poor are all tried together for petty misdemeanors. After an hour futilely waiting around in hopes of seeing someone that matched Ana's description, our volunteer almost gave up. She decided to wait a few more minutes, looking for a chair to sit down at least. Right behind her, a seat opened up - the only free seat in the courtroom. As she gratefully sank into the chair, she noticed that the girl seated next to her carried an identity card from the same country as Ana. As she curiously looked closer at the i.d. card, it WAS ANA! Wow! She quickly asked her if she was Ana, and knew our other volunteer D. The look on Ana's face was priceless - to realize that someone was waiting for her in the most unpleasant, miserable place! And not just her boyfriend-pimp.

Despite her conviction that her boyfriend would take her home the next day, we saw her again in the brothel. Once again, he didn't keep his word.

But last week, Ana was finally free to go home! I don't know what happened that changed her boyfriend's heart, but Ana got to go home. I'm sure that her emotional bond with this guy is still there, and there are so many woundings and traumas from this whole story. But we rejoice together with Ana on one step forward in her journey towards healing!

*all names are changed to protect identities