
Survivor Stories
Survivor Stories
The accounts of human trafficking survivors often point to an unfortunate connection with the DoD. Each of the following is an excerpt from the story of a survivor of human trafficking. You can read their full account by following the link below each excerpt. You can also watch videos of these survivors telling their stories at: https://ctip.defense.gov/Survivor-Voices/
Jerome Elam

“My father had returned from a three-year tour in the army serving overseas during the 1960’s filled with anger. As time progressed, his rage became uncontrollable and my mother and I became its unwilling targets. At three years old, the divorce of my parents would send me down a path dark and filled with bottomless depravity where I would endure a hell that only a few have survived.”
Tina Frundt

“I ended up in the DC area, where we were on Beauregard Street in Alexandria, Virginia, across from a DoD office building. Military service members and DoD civilian employees often bought me from one of my pimps – mainly on pay days when they were flush with cash.”
Kalei Grant

“We would be driven to military bases and nearby bars, where the pimps would watch us look for the drunk military soldiers to proposition them. The transactions would happen everywhere – in barracks, in homes and apartments, on military bases, in warehouses, in military personnel vehicles, in personal cars, and even while Service members were on and off duty. On duty Service members would often see what was going on and turn a blind eye to it.”
Kumar

“I went to Afghanistan as a laborer, but the base was closed after just six months and I was sent home. In the end, I didn’t make any money from the work. All my earnings went to cover the payment I made to the money lender, to pay the fee to get the job.”
“This was my experience working on the U.S. Army contract. I thought this was my big break, my chance to really get my family ahead. I was an employee of a U.S. company, but I was cheated by the recruiters and sub-contractors.”
Lusambu Karim

“Then our contracts ran out and we were required to work for 6 months without a contract. When the Taliban attacked Kunduz City where our camp was located, I went to the boss, representing the 21 Ugandans and told him that we couldn’t continue working without contracts. I asked him what would happen if anyone got injured or died while on duty. There would be no way to file a case for compensation without a valid contract. He dismissed me without saying anything.”
Shelby Thompson

“I don’t remember the faces of any of the countless number of men who bought me. I do recall having conversations with a few of the “regulars.” It is sickening to say that some of these men were people in authoritative positions, men who were married, doctors, and yes, soldiers in the military … I remember some of the men coming to the motel room in military uniforms.”
Hannah Blair

“During that time many men purchased me. I’m sure some were from the military because the Coast Guard was so close. There were also law enforcement officials – one even came in his uniform – and many other men from different professions. I would say at the height of the trafficking [by a Coast Guardsmen] I was going to private apartments and hotel rooms about four or five times a week on top of being at my trafficker’s parties every night.”
Desiree Trail

“I also saw lots of military men in the 1720 Club on 17 th Street in D.C., at the Crystal Palace, in Crystal City, at the Pussycat Lounge in Portsmouth, Virginia. Did they know what was happening inside these clubs? Did they know women were being held hostage and trafficked? Did they know they were part of the trafficking problem (demand for trafficking victims)? I doubt it, but they were still a part of the problem.”
Amber Causey

“Believe me when I say it is not an exaggeration when I say the military saved my life! Just before dropping out of high school, before I had ever run away from home, before anyone ever viewed me as a prostitute, I had signed up for the ROTC. Miraculously, a few years later, a local recruiter found me.”
“I know my story is not unique. There are so many who join the military to escape violence or abuse in their home or community. We need to be on the lookout for these people, to know the signs and indicators of human trafficking and know how to respond appropriately. The military has so many resources, but first you have to know what happened and what the young recruit needs.”
Keyana Marshall

“A large part of my trafficker’s “clientele” was from Fort Richardson. They came in uniform before work, after work, and honestly even during work. My trafficker liked military men because there was this notion that if they are in the military then they can’t be plainclothes police officers. He tracked the payment schedules of military men. We were “hired” for parties on base and off base. Most of the time I was going I would have to be dropped off in front of the base and someone would meet me there and take me in to the base as his girlfriend or guest. It seemed like sometimes the military police even knew or suspected what was going on but turned a blind eye to it.”