Written by Co-Founder Colette Bercu
Awareness comes from becoming informed. Information that inspires passion can change your life.
One evening in 2005, I settled in to watch CBS’s “48 Hours Mystery”. The information that I learned from this broadcast would indeed change my life, and lead to the founding of “Free for Life International”.
The show featured a news crew that traveled to Romania after learning that they might actually be able to purchase a young woman as a sex slave. They knew it would make a compelling story if they succeeded. They were prepared for great difficulty and complications. What they weren’t prepared for was that it only took one short hour to establish contact with someone that could make this “transaction” possible.
Over the next sixty minutes I would meet Nicoletta, a young woman who’d been held against her will and sold as a sexual commodity to numerous men each day. Her traffickers sold her to the reporter for $1,800.00. The reporter asked the women selling Nicoletta what she meant by “now you own her.” She said; “Just that she will be a good slave and do whatever you want. She will make you a lot of money.” Nicoletta’s resignation to her imprisonment was evident as she mirrored what the woman had said, telling the reporter that yes, she would be a good slave. As she spoke she smiled while parading half naked in front of them. Once the deal was done and they had Nicoletta in their car, the reporters revealed to her that they were not her owners, but her rescuers. I watched as she went from smiling and laughing, playing the part she had been taught so well, to blankly staring at them. Finally, when the realization of what they’d said sank in, she began to cry. Nicoletta shared that she hadn’t seen the sky in over a year. She was now free. Unknown to her at the time, Iana Matei, a woman who ran the only private safe house in Romania, had already agreed to take her in.
On this “48 Hours”, not only was Nicoletta’s story told, but also the gut wrenching stories of two other young women that had been held as sex slaves; one in Mexico and the other right here in the United States. Their plight tore at my heart so badly that two days later I was still crying. I decided that I could go on crying or I could do something. I went on the “48 Hours” website and tracked down the woman in Romania who ran the shelter. I asked her what she needed. She emailed me back that the shelter was in desperate need of funding. I answered that I wasn’t sure how I could help, but that if I possibly could I would. By 2006, my husband Dan and I had formed “Free for Life” and were on a plane heading to Romania. Thus began my journey into the world of charitable activism on behalf of trafficking victims.
The past five years have been filled with some of the most challenging and dangerous times of my life, but also the most enlightening and joyous times I have ever experienced. Today, I am more passionately determined than ever to make a difference in the lives of victims of sexual slavery.
Young women and children who are sold into slavery are forced to endure the unthinkable. The feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness that traffickers breed into the hearts and minds of their victims truly kill their spirit. Free for Life exists to make sure that hope comes alive again in the hearts of those who’ve been rescued. Since my own awakening and through my work, I’ve found that there’s an enormous lack of awareness of the existence of sexual trafficking, the second most prevalent crime in the world. People cannot change what they do not know exists, but given the information and opportunity, so many good people want to lend a hand and make a difference.
We at “Free for Life” are on the front lines, combating the vast epidemic of modern day slavery. Our partnerships provide a sanctuary where self-respect, self-confidence and life skills are nurtured and grow in survivors. Their rescue is just the beginning of their struggle. They cannot do this alone. That’s why it’s imperative to keep shelters open and thriving. Since Free for Life International began, we have done exactly that… one child, one woman, one shelter, one day and one dollar at a time. The success of the shelters we work with is remarkable. The many testimonies of lives restored over the years have taught me the power of love in overcoming the devastation that occurs as a result of a person being sold into slavery. The ability to partner with people like you has enabled us to go from working with that one shelter in 2005 to working with shelters and individuals in five countries.
Yes, over the past five years I have become informed, aware and impassioned. My life has been changed as I help change the lives of others. What have been my greatest lessons?
One person can truly make a difference… and when given the opportunity, LOVE always heals.
