For Sale: Mariana, aged 15

“Mariana, Florina, Elena are all aged between fifteen and sixteen years, and work as sex slaves.
That is essentially all the information I have about them, but it’s all I really need to know: I must save these girls.”

Eastern European countries have become the main suppliers of girls in the European Union. From the rare data that we have been able to collect, 300,000 are working as prostitutes in Western Europe today. As to how many of them have been sold… Probably most of them.

It’s all happening before our very eyes, in our streets, our bars, our parking lots, along our highways.

Officially, the authorities, judges, politicians deplore the situation, they’re outraged. In practice, however, seeing traffickers put on trial is a rare occurrence. The impunity of these fractions of men disgusts me.

All these girls have been through hell, and from now on I devote my life to them, to make sure that they have somewhere to seek sanctuary if they manage to escape. If I don’t help them, who will? Things are changing slowly, but there is so much left to do…

Iana Matei brings us the story of her fight to save these young girls, give them back their future, and opens our eyes to the frightening reality of human trafficking spreading like a disease through
Europe today.

Iana Matei was elected “2010 European woman of the year“.