Victims Voices: Trang

Trang received assistance through the NGO 'La Strada' in the Czech Republic

In 2008, agents offering jobs in the Czech Republic visited 28-year-old Trang's village in Vietnam. Anyone who could pay a travel and administration fee was assured of earning the money back within a year. Trang's extended family took out a loan so he could go, borrowing against three houses and a farm.

In the Czech Republic, Trang went to work in an electronics factory. Two months later the global economy crashed. Trang and thousands of other foreigner workers in the Czech Republic lost their jobs.

At a recruitment event at a Vietnamese market in Prague, Trang signed on with a company offering jobs felling trees in state-owned forests. It was backbreaking work. The first month Trang received wages, but after that, he and his coworkers were paid nothing. Despite threats, Trang left. Back in Prague he was referred to La Strada. Together with other NGOs, La Strada filed a criminal complaint against the company on behalf of Trang and 120 other exploited workers. The case is still in the courts. Trang hopes to receive compensation for his labour so he can return home and pay off his family's debt.

La Strada Czech Republic is a member organization of La Strada International, an anti-human trafficking association with offices in eight European countries. In the Czech Republic, La Strada provides legal support and social assistance to trafficked and exploited individuals. It also campaigns to raise public awareness to prevent human trafficking and ensure that its victims receive help.

Donate to the Victims Trust Fund today and directly help people like Trang. Visit www.unodc.org/humantraffickingfund to find out how.