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The Guardian. Spain
Ten Moroccan women say Spanish authorities have ignored claims they were trafficked, assaulted and exploited.
Last April, Samira Ahmad* kissed her baby goodbye and boarded a bus, leaving her home in Morocco for the strawberry fields of southern Spain. In her bag was her Spanish visa and a contract that promised €40 a day plus food and accommodation. In the three months she’d be away, she hoped the pain of being separated from her family would be softened by the money she’d be sending back to them – a fortune compared to what she’d be able to earn at home.
A year on, and Ahmad’s life is in ruins. She is destitute, divorced and for the past 10 months has been living in hiding, surviving on handouts with nine other Moroccan women who – like her – claim they faced human trafficking, sexual assault and exploitation on the farm where they were hired to work. She says her biggest mistake – other than coming to Spain – was going to the authorities.
“Before I left my home I was like a hero to everyone. Nobody in my village had ever had the chance to go and work in a rich country like Spain,” she said. “But it has turned out to be the worst decision of my life.”
