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"I met a woman in the store, who used to be our neighbour a few years ago. She learned that I was looking for a job, but could not find one. She said that she was working in a labour recruiting company and that they were sending people abroad to work in cafés and restaurants or as babysitters. It looked like a good opportunity and I agreed. She said that usually they were sending people to Greece. Jobs are well paid there and all depends on a person’s ability to communicate. She told me that for preparation of documents, visas and other papers, I had to pay her US$ 1,500. Of course I did not have so much money, so I sold some of my jewellery and borrowed the rest of the money from a friend. She arranged documents within ten days and explained that I would not be going alone, but with five other women. We took the bus from Yerevan and went to Turkey, from where we took a plane to Athens. In Athens the representative of the company met us and the first thing he did was asking for our documents, which he needed, as he explained, for obtaining work permits. He helped us to rent a room, where three of us were staying. Two days later he told us that he had found jobs for us. Two women were supposed to work in a bar and I was proposed a job of helping an elderly invalid woman. He promised to pay me at the end of each month, but I actually never received anything. The old woman was very nervous and it was extremely hard to take care of her. When I complained to the mediator he said that he could propose me another job in a bar as a waitress, but I was actually forced into prostitution. My roommates told me that they had been forced to do that as well. I tried my best to run away, but I did not have enough money. We all tried to collect money for return tickets, but we did not have documents. Once we met an Armenian family and told them our story, and they proposed to help us. In the end they talked to our mediator threatening him with the police. He gave us our documents, but no money. We could hardly buy our tickets to return home. Until the very day of our departure the man was threatening us to tell to all our friends in Yerevan that we were prostitutes. Nevertheless, we did not listen to his threats. We came home, without the money that we had earned, humiliated and ashamed of what had happened to us."
Source: IOM /// "Trafficking in Women and Children from the Republic of Armenia: A Study" (IOM, 2001, ISBN 92-9068-114-4)