Like all young girls in my home place I spent my time at school and hanging out with my sisters and friends. However it is the custom in my town in Albania to have an arranged marriage. Although I wanted to make my parents happy, I couldn’t go through with the wedding. Not only because he was a stranger but I already had a boyfriend and we were in love. Now it hurts to say his name. As the date approached we had no choice but to run away. I was scared but also elated. I packed a bag and we travelled to Kosovo where he had friends to stay with. However as soon as we arrived everything changed utterly. The man I loved, who made me feel safe and whom I trusted with my life, betrayed me. I was forced into a room and locked in.
Then the abuse began. They kept me locked up and I was repeatedly raped by up to ten men every day (including “him”). They were cruel and threatened to kill my family if I tried to escape. I’ve tried to forget a lot from those dark days but I know I was moved from place to place. I never knew where. It was only on the day I escaped that I discovered that I was in England. I still don’t know how I got away. I was referred to Hestia for support and housing.
For a long time I was terrified of everything and everyone. I couldn’t trust anybody. My advocate, Meena, was my lifesaver. She was with me every step of the way. With her encouragement I started to learn English. Twelve months later I reached Level 2 in English got a place at college to study Social Care. Meena also arranged for me to have counselling; this is difficult as I have never talked about myself before. I now know that I suffer from panic attacks, anxiety and depression and even now there are days where I almost give up. I miss my family and hate what has happened to me. Other days are better and I feel that maybe I’ll really get through this.
Courtesy of Hestia
