Maitland St Bloemfontein 9301 Freestate, South Africa

South Africa · Maitland St Bloemfontein 9301 Freestate · 2009 (location generalized to protect survivors)

Law enforcement had done a drug bust on the hotel in 2008, and officially closed in January 2009 where many underage girls were rescued, and other illegal immigrants were arrested. Since then the hotel is supposed to be closed but according to Skinner is still being used for prostitution. There is currently (as of March 2010) no legislation in South Africa against Human Trafficking, leaving law enforcement with little resources regarding this issue, and underage prostitution is often not recognized for what it is. It is unclear if Sindiswa contracted HIV before or after she was sold, but some of her clients didn't use condoms. She was diagnosed with the virus only a week before I met her. When she was too sick to stand and thus useless as a slave, Jude had thrown her onto the street. Sindiswa shared her story with Ben Skinner Author of article "South Africa's new slave trade and the Campaign to stop it." and died days after on July 22nd, 2009. Sindiswa's friend Elizabeth was rescued off the street from in front of the Maitland Hotel. Sindiswa was placed in a government hospital until her death, on July 22nd. Elizabeth was brought back to her home town in the Eastern Cape, where a dedicated social worker was involved to ensure she was not re-trafficked. Social Worker in Indwe Ben Skinner's Investigation of Human Trafficking in South Africa, article featured in Time magazine on January 18th, 2010. "For a South African victim of human trafficking, this was the endgame. On a freezing night last July, Sindiswa, 17, lay curled in a fetal position in bed No. 7 of a state-run hospice in central Bloemfontein... Sindiswa's family was one of the poorest families in Indwe, the poorest district in Eastern Cape, one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. Ninety-five percent of the residents of her township fall below the poverty line, more than a quarter have HIV, and most survive by clinging to government grants. Orphaned at 16, she had to leave school to support herself. Last February, a woman from a neighboring town offered to find work for her and her 15-year-old best friend, Elizabeth, who, like Sindiswa, was poor but was also desperate to escape her violent older sister. (I have changed Elizabeth's name to protect her identity.) After driving them eight hours north to Bloemfontein, the recruiter sold them to a Nigerian drug and human-trafficking syndicate in exchange for $120 and crack cocaine. "[The recruiter] said we could find a job," Sindiswa recalled, "but as soon as we got here, she told us, 'No. You have to go into the streets and sell yourselves.' " The buyer, Jude, forced them into prostitution on the streets of central Bloemfontein for 12 straight hours every night. Each morning, he collected their earnings — Sindiswa averaged $40 per night; Elizabeth, $65. Elizabeth tried to escape three times, once absconding for several weeks. Jude always found her or used Sindiswa as a hostage to lure her back, then enlisted an enforcer named Rasta to beat her." Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952335-1,00.html#ixzz0jBizhliy