After escaping from slavery, Elena faces a difficult journey toward a new life for herself and her children.

ISRAEL – When Elena* first came to Israel from Eastern Europe more than 10 years ago she was forced into sex slavery. At first she tried to refuse and was beaten and stripped of all her earthly possessions. Eventually she made the difficult decision to stop fighting because she feared she would be killed.

It was a horrifying scenario—she left her homeland to enter a foreign country with no friends, was unable to speak the language, had everything taken away, and had no one to turn to. Her identity was stripped from her and Elena became a commodity for people to buy and trade.

After entering the sex slavery industry against her will, Elena was bought and sold by many different men and moved from one place to another. She said that she was very close to committing suicide until a man claimed to have fallen in love with her. He asked to buy her from her owner but was unable to come up with all the money he needed.

Elena was sickened by her circumstances and eventually escaped from her owner to live with this man who said he loved her. After having a child with this man, he became ill and could no longer care for her or their child. Still with no one to turn to, Elena went to the police.

But Elena and her children did not have the documents that allowed them to be in Israel legally. They were sent to a shelter for women who have escaped the trafficking industry, and she had a DNA test for the child to prove that his father is an Israeli citizen. Her son was given citizenship, but Elena still wasn’t able to get any documentation for herself. The shelter became her home for four years until she was told that they could no longer house her and her children.

Without citizenship, Elena cannot legally work in Israel, so Operation Blessing partnered with Isha L’Isha, a women’s center, to help pay her utilities. OBI teams are also helping provide for her family’s needs as she struggles to get her visa and gain citizenship that will allow her take care of her children in their homeland. While nothing can erase her terrifying past, it is powerful to hear how her life has changed as Operation Blessing has helped Elena find her value, identity and inner strength again.

*Name changed for protection

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