Luna's circumstances are one of the biggest challenges we have faced at GlowbalAct so far. In addition to her health problems, she has an immense mountain of debt. Human trafficking is very evil! Victims are often not only physically and psychologically exploited but they are put under brutal pressure and driven into an additional, usually insurmountable financial dependency. Exactly this happened to Luna.
Luna was born in Belarus in 1967. She was a renowned music teacher, married, with two sons. In view of the increasingly difficult living conditions in Belarus, she decided to emigrate to Israel as she is Jewish. Together with her two sons, she left her home country and her familiar surroundings and moved to Kyrat Gat (south Israel). Her expectations for a new and good life were great.
A music teacher’s nightmare
The dream of working in Israel as a music teacher did not come true, as she did not speak Hebrew. To support her family, she started working as a cleaner. Unfortunately, her sons got into a difficult conflict followed by a lawsuit and the little, hard-earned money they had was not enough to pay the legal fees. In desperation, she sought advice from her personal circle. Her situation made Luna an ideal target for human traffickers.
They shamelessly exploited her plight. It did not take long for Luna to end up in prostitution which got her into a trap of debts.
The goal of her exploiters was achieved and to escape them is practically impossible. Since 2005 she has been struggling to keep her head above water. In the meantime, her debts have accumulated to over 30,000 USD. Luna has been working in prostitution every day in order to pay off her debts with an amount of about $200 a day. The longer she takes to pay it back the more the interest mounts. The goal of her exploiters was achieved and to escape them is practically impossible. Working in such a destructive and humiliating environment also means that it does not take long before health problems arise. Luna suffers from a very complex post-traumatic stress disorder. No one was willing or able to take on her case.
A new door opens for Luna
That's why she was brought to us. Her last resort. With the firm will to break the disastrous cycle of prostitution for good, she is now taking part in our educational program. As with all participants in our program, we sat down with Luna and listened to her story which is one of absolute hopelessness. We listened to her despair, her cry, her pain.
What can we do for Luna?
What can we do when the situation is too big for everyone else? Isn’t she already too far gone to help? How can we ever put her out of her misery and guilt? But here she is, turning to us, her last resort. Luna is now being guided every step of the way to a debt-free, restored life. The first step to her freedom is to remove that mountain of debt. We have found time and again that financial debts are one of the biggest obstacles to exiting prostitution. GlowbalAct's professional team, partner organizations andand friends help ensure that Luna is not alone. For Luna, a new future has begun. A future of a dignified and independent life.
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