Trafficked
When Thao responded to a job offer that she hoped would lift her out of poverty, she was trafficked into Myanmar and sold to a criminal organisation who enslaved her in a large compound.
Thao’s captors locked her in small, blacked-out rooms and forced her to scam other people online. If she refused or failed to meet unrealistic daily targets, they beat her and deprived her of food.
After a month in slavery, Blue Dragon rescued Thao and brought her safely back to Vietnam. The journey home was long and gruelling, taking her across mountains and jungles – but that epic trek was just the first step along the painful road to recovery.
Blue Dragon rescued Thao from slavery.
Trauma upon trauma
Thao suffered from severe psychological trauma even before she was trafficked. She was never taught basic hygiene, which has led to medical problems that have further complicated with time.
As a child, she and her brother were often beaten by their father, causing them both to run away when Thao was 10. While her brother was never found, the police located Thao and placed her with a foster parent.
After we brought Thao back to Vietnam, we began providing her with everything she needed to make a full recovery, including health care, psychological support and vocational training.
But leading a “normal life” is extremely difficult for people who have been trafficked – especially when their life was so unstable to begin with – and Thao was bound to hit lots of obstacles before having any chance of thriving.
Thao received lots of one-on-one support.
Setbacks
After over a year of all-round support, Thao shared that she felt ready to start working and become financially independent.
Blue Dragon helped Thao to find a job, but it was tough going. It seemed like whenever Thao took a step forward, her trauma would drag her two steps back. Recently, she was working in a small cafe when a run-in with a customer caused her intense psychological pain.
The customer approached Thao to ask if she could adjust a fan, but the woman’s behaviour was slightly aggressive and Thao could smell alcohol on her breath. This triggered painful memories of being physically attacked, causing Thao such trauma that she had to stop working.
After Blue Dragon heard what happened, we adjusted our support to try and prevent similar incidents in the future.
First, we tailored Thao’s psychological care to help her better deal with similar incidents going forward. Then, we worked with the cafe to change Thao’s job responsibilities, meaning she’s less likely to come across triggering incidents while doing her job.
Thao started off well at the cafe.
An incident with a customer caused her a lot of trauma.
Ongoing support
Every day will bring new pain and challenges as Thao fights for a normal life, but she’s determined to keep going. She studies in her free time and shows up for work ready to face unexpected challenges head on.
There will be highs and lows, but Thao knows that when she has another setback, Blue Dragon will be right beside her with all the support she needs to work through it.
Thao was able to start work again with Blue Dragon’s support.
