Amaka Ethel Nwokorie, as a victim of trafficking in writer: “My redemption came through the study and teaching of my father”

According to the latest data of the European Commission, in 2022, 10,093 victims of human beings were identified in the European Union. Increase of 41% compared to 7,155 of the previous year, the highest number since 2013. Of these, More than 6 out of 10 (65%) are women and girls victims of sexual exploitation. The real number could be far higher, because many people end up in the section of the trafficking are no longer identified. Fortunately, however, there are also those who manage to save themselves, like Amaka Ethel Nwokorielinguistic and cultural mediator of Nigerian origin, who arrived thirty years ago in Italy, deceived and transported to an unknown world. Today he decided to tell his story in the book My father’s wordsout of March 28 for other economics, to instill courage and show that wounds do not define their destiny.

How did the opportunity presented to move to Italy?
«My cousin Ugonma, who lived in Turin, told my parents that her employer was looking for a profile like his, of which he could trust. So he thought he was giving me this precious opportunity. I was 20, I was hesitant, I didn’t want to leave my family and above all my studies. But everyone encouraged me, believed it was an opportunity for growth ».

Instead it was a deception.
«I must admit that the journey went well enough, I was not enthusiastic, but I thought that in Europe I could have worked and studying, without difficulty. I had a bad presentiment when Mr. Esosa, who accompanied me on the journey from Nigeria, showed me a false passport that my photo had, but not my personal data. He told me how the other girls who brought to Italy before me lived and earned and earned well, but I didn’t pay much attention to his words. “

When did he become aware that he is the victim of trafficking for exploitation of prostitution?
“Immediately, the second day I was in Italy, with another girl I went to what was to be the job, but there was no house, no human being, no factory. I was doubtful, even before I asked her about the type of work I should have done, the girl began to undress by inviting me to do it too. At that moment, I realized I was deceived. Without words, I burst into crying ».

How did you react on the days to follow?
“I invoked God to save me. I prayed while the machines of those hypothetical customers passed. I lacked my family’s affection. I devised plans to ask the police for help. It was 15 very long days, but I never sold. I always refused to accept this lifestyle, I asked my cousin to help me find a job, but refused. To give me strength were the words of my father, he claimed that no knowledge is a waste: he must not drown in the ocean of despair, because in every situation there is a precious key to be exploited to open new opportunities “.

In fact, fortunately, he then managed to escape and was welcomed by the nuns of Mother Teresa of Calcutta in Milan.
«Yes, I was happy because I had a safe place to stay, but life was not at all simple without a passport, identity card and a residence permit. Among other things, I didn’t even have clothes to change. I lived in the grip of loss, I felt a bankrupt and I was wary with everyone ».

But he rolled up his sleeves to resume his studies and try to build his future.
«I committed myself very much to exploit any training opportunity it was presented to me. The study has always been very important to me. Initially, knowing only “bad words” related to violence and prostitution, I hated Italian. Then I realized that without the knowledge of the language I could not work, so I started studying it using dictionaries, paying attention to how much I felt around me. Until I enrolled in an evening course that put the first certificate in my hand, otherwise I would have been seen as an illiterate in Italy ».

But he didn’t stop at that piece of paper.
“I started a three-year qualification program in tourism, I graduated from Ipsia and then, since I wanted to be an interpreter, I enrolled in marketing and global business at the University of Milan-Bicocca. I felt reborn, finally responsible for my life. In the meantime, I have done as many jobs such as caregiver, babysitter, private teacher for students. I continuously increased my area of ​​knowledge ».

In what moment did he perceive that his life was really changing?
«First of all, when I got the residence permit and consequently the right to have, among other things, a bank account and the family doctor. Getting the residence permit thanks to the 1995 amnesty has represented an important opportunity, without which I would not be what I am now. Then, subsequently, many years later, I obtained citizenship and therefore the right to vote. However, I felt made when I started working as a linguistic-cultural mediator with rinds, a multicultural social cooperative that promotes psychophysical health and the quality of life of women and migrant families, refugees and applicants international protection, in compliance with cultural and gender differences. From that moment I made the dream of helping other foreigners who could encounter difficulties like me ».

Why, despite the suffering inflicted from this land, has decided to stay in Italy?
«I was moved by a strong desire for revenge. Then, soon, I realized that Italy is a passionate and welcoming country. In fact, after 30 years, despite every now and then you return to Nigeria to find my family, I’m still here. Among other things, I became president of Afrit (African Reformers in Italy), a voluntary association, which aims to fill the social gap between African migrants in Italy and the Italian society. In addition to being a member of rinds, I also collaborate as a mediator for the center for migrant women of the Hospitals of Santi Paolo and Carlo di Milano and with the ethnopsychiatry (intercultural psychiatry) service of the Niguarda hospital in Milan. Through my professional commitment, embellished with my experience, I try to tend to hand to those who can become the protagonist of the change, just like me ».