Jano, 52

“When I was visiting my neighbor, an acquaintance of his from one street over stopped by for coffee, he then bragged about working at a construction site in Italy and making good money. I was unemployed with no money to spare so I asked him about the job. He immediately proposed to take me to Italy, he was returning there the next week, and to arrange a spot for me.

I gladly accepted even though didn’t know where exactly I was going or how much I was going to make. Two other men were traveling with us in the car, nothing seemed strange to me, I trusted the guy because he seemed to know his way around. We arrived in Trieste, but suddenly everything changed there. He told us there is no construction site and that the trip must be repaid. I had no money so he suggested that I should make some by begging. He threw me out on the street where I then slept every day and washed myself in a stream. I had to hand him over the begging money, he left me none for food and threatened to beat and leave me there.

I didn’t speak the language nor knew exactly where I was. I overheard a couple speaking Slovak close by, so I ran to them and told them everything. They took me to the police where they got me an interpreter and contacted an NGO and the embassy, who helped me return home.”