Arya’s Redemption from Human Trafficking

This is the story of Arya, an Indian Migrant Domestic Worker. Arya was a victim of human trafficking whom we were able to help.

As soon as Arya arrived in Hong Kong, her employer confiscated her passport and employment contract. Arya was forced to serve the family 7 days a week from 6:00 AM to 12:30 AM with no rest days. The employer’s wife verbally abused Arya and gave her inadequate food while invading her privacy by installing a CCTV camera in her room.She did not receive a monthly salary for her work. Instead her employer transferred a meagre HK$3,000 to her family in India each month.

Unaware of Migrant Domestic Worker (MDW) labour laws, Arya continued working for her employer until she couldn’t take it anymore. After 10 months of abuse, she was determined to escape and asked her friend for help one day when she was grocery shopping. Her friend brought Arya to our centre where we explained her rights to her according to Hong Kong law.

Arya moved into our MDW shelter last year and we helped retrieve her passport. Our paralegal team conducted an initial human trafficking screening, then referred Arya to the International Organisation of Migration who identified her as a Trafficking in Person victim. Furthermore, she filed a claim with the Labour Department for her entitlements.

At our shelter, we provided Arya with psychological counseling, emotional and social support and her all her basic needs. Despite cultural and language barriers, she befriended her Indonesian sheltermates and loved participating in our activities. Arya was skilled at handicrafts and a team player as she taught the other women to sew handbags.

Praise the Lord that at the end of her case, Arya received 96% of her total claim from her former employer. She found another job and is currently working happily for a new family.

I thank God for his faithfulness and provision for Arya. I’m amazed by her resolve to seek justice and by the ways the Lord leads us to walk alongside these strong and beautiful women.

“…He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…” Isaiah 61:1

Arya made a special Indian
dish for a cooking competition