Where is Felicia?

In 1984 I was living in Mile 2 Lagos with my father and brother. My father met a woman who he took as his wife and in 1985 my little sister was born.

Unfortunately in 1988 my father passed away after a battle with cancer and my brother and I returned to the UK to live.

Shortly after our father’s wife, Felicia, approached or was approached by a member of our extended family about working in Italy. She left Nigeria, leaving our 3 year old sister behind.

It was about five years later that we received a phone call from Felicia. I am ashamed to say that her call was not well received. As a young opinionated twenty something I was angry with her for abandoning my sister. She asked for money and was given short shrift.

I, like millions of other Nigerians, assumed that Felicia had made a life style choice and gone off to sell the only asset that she had; her body.

I never considered what it must have taken for her to reach out and make that call. I never thought about helping her.

At that point in my life I had never heard the term ‘human trafficking’

Now almost twenty years later and with a personal work history that incorporates social services, counselling and the National Health Services I understand the terrible experiences that await women leaving Nigeria on the promise of a better life for themselves and their families.

In recent years, as I’ve watched my little sister develop into a beautiful young lady, I ask myself more and more often……where is Felicia?