She Just Wanted To Go Home

Recently, a young woman who was visibly upset was dropped off in our parking lot by a local brothel limo. She wore a sundress and flip flops and carried a fuzzy purse over her shoulder in the shape of a chicken.  She clutched her purse tightly to her as we invited her in to see how we could help.

Through tears she told us she no longer wanted to be sold for what her body could be used for by someone who bought her, and she told us she just wanted to go home.  She left the brothel and everything she owned was in that purse which contained her phone, identification and cash-that’s it.

The brothel let her believe they wanted her to have time to go see her family and let her know they would see her again in a couple months as she was always welcome to return. They let her know they would keep her “working clothes” safe for her until she returned.  That’s their lie. You are always welcome to return to what they consider the family where your sisters are, but at what cost?

She just wanted to go home.

While our encounter together was brief, I do believe she felt loved.  I asked her if I could give her a hug before she got into the uber we had arranged to take her to the airport and she quickly said, “no!” Then immediately turned and hugged me tightly for close to a minute in tears. She said, “my mom wore shoes like yours; she died a while ago, I just want to go back home.” Home however meant it would be without her mother and returning to a stepfather who sexually abused her every Sunday, when her mother went to church. The option of home was more desirable than remaining at the brothel being purchased and in an environment that is designed to destroy, despite the sexual abuse she had received at home. I only had about a half hour to love on this diamond, but I am certain her life had many more facets that needed to be discovered.

For one moment, I reminded her of her mom and home. For one moment I was able to show her she was loved and valued beyond what she had been paid for. She left us, holding her fluffy chicken purse.

These moments always cause me to remember why we do what we do. How we treat people is important. It is important to look beyond what we see on the outside. We never know what a moment of seeing them and believing their story may provide for someone in trauma. A sense of home is often not a good reality for most of the diamonds we serve. It is most often a lifetime of violent exploitation and trauma with its origin at home. We are called to love without conditions and be a tangible place of safety and care for survivors that live in terror and exploitation.

The fluffy chicken purse represented a sense of home and childlike innocence. The hug was a moment that was unconditional, no transaction, nothing expected in return, and a moment of care in her escape from the brothel.

She just wanted to go home. I was able to give her a glimpse of what she was looking for on her journey home. It cost me nothing to love her in that moment, but I believe it gave her a moment to never forget what it felt like to be loved, seen, and treated as the beautiful valuable diamond she is.