I SURVIVED BY SLEEPING IN BATHRROM FOR WEEKS IN OMAN- TRAFFIC SURVIVOR

A human trafficking victim, Oyinlola Solanke, yesterday, in Abuja narrated how she escaped from Oman through sheer guts and the help of a good Samaritan after 10 months of slavery.

The mother of two  and  a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, stated  that she was lured to the Arab nation by her in-law who convinced her that she could earn N150,000 as a maid in Oman.

OYINLOLA SOLANKA

She said:

“While working as a maid, they don’t allow you to lock your door when in the room. I was told I couldn’t lock the door while in the room. Few weeks before I came to Nigeria, I was sleeping in the bathroom because that was the only place I felt safe. It was the only place I could lock the door behind me. It was hell.

“The experience I had in Oman wasn’t a good one. I was told that I would earn about N150,000, which compared to what I was earning here was better. There were a lot of things they didn’t tell me would happen.

“When I got there, my passport was taken from me and I was not allowed to go out on my own. I spent 10 months there and it was just modern day slavery. I had to put on an act before they permitted me to return to Nigeria.”

She explained that she had to lie that her father was dead for her to leave the country, adding that she got her friends to condole with her on WhatsApp about the alleged demise of her parent.

“I asked some of my friends to chat with me on WhatsApp that my dad was dead. So, I had to lie that I would return to Oman in two weeks. I didn’t come back with most of my things. I still remember when I got there, I told them to get a resident card for me, but they didn’t,” she explained.

CAUTIONS YOUMG NIGERIANS

Solanke cautioned young Nigerians against falling for the promises of a better life in foreign countries by traffickers, noting that it was untrue, adding that foreigners were treated shabbily and only allowed to do menial jobs.

She said: “As a Nigerian and a black person, you can’t get a good job there. When I was leaving Oman, I saw a lady who spent just six days and wanted to leave because she couldn’t bear the treatment. She wasn’t sexually abused, but she was over-worked, having to wake up at 4:00 am or 5:00 am and work till 1:00 am the next day.”

Solanke, who was rescued by the Erelu Eyinade Foundation, added:

“They won’t allow you to sit down for a second. When I started having problems with my boss, before I contacted Erelu Toyin Mark, that was when I knew I was alone on the journey. If not for her, I don’t think I would be in Nigeria now.”

“I trained in taekwondo when I was in school and that was one thing that helped me. My boss was a short and fat man, so I used to tell him, ‘If you really want to have sex with me by force, you need to go back to the gym."