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Success Story
Organizations educate
children about trafficking
and help victims heal
Trafficked Children Get a Fresh Start
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Photo: USAID/Stephanie Pepi
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An elementary school student reads a
brochure about the dangers of
trafficking.
“Dritan,” who was 6 years
old the first time he was
trafficked, now lives in a
secure apartment and is
training to be an auto
mechanic.
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“Dritan” has begged, stolen, washed car windows and sold
everything from flowers to cigarette lighters on the streets of
Greek cities. And on days when he did not earn $60 or $70, he
was left hungry, made to sleep on the street and beaten.
Dritan is one of hundreds of Albanian children who have
been trafficked, mostly to Greece and Italy where they
are forced to beg or work. Older girls are often forced
into prostitution, while boys may get involved in
organized crime, selling drugs, or running their own
trafficking rings.
The children are typically Roma, or Gypsy, from poor
families who live in cramped quarters with no running
water or power. Their families are often approached by
a neighbor who says that they will pay the parents a
monthly income and that the child will have a good life.
In reality, children are mistreated and made to live on
the streets, while parents rarely get any money.
Dritan was 6 years old the first time he was trafficked to Greece
and spent the next eight years living on the streets — and trying
to get home. He eventually was able to take a bus back to
Albania, where he was referred to Tjeter Vizion, a USAID-supported
organization that helps trafficked children start living
a normal life. Some are reunited with their families. Those who
have suffered trauma are placed under the organization’s legal
custody. Tjeter Vizion runs a residential center, day care center
and secure apartments for trafficking victims and other at-risk
youth. Staff members help younger residents with their school
work while older children are trained in a vocation like plumbing
or hair-dressing. Now 14, Dritan has lived in a Tjeter Vizion
secure apartment for six months and is training to be a car
mechanic.
USAID also supports Transnational Action Against Child
Trafficking (TACT), an organization that works to teach
elementary school children about the dangers of trafficking
before they are placed at risk. TACT visits schools to show
testimonial videos of trafficked children and distribute
pamphlets about kids who were made to beg on the street.
Operating in half of Albania’s districts, TACT has reached some
25,000 children with its anti-trafficking message.
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