Bukola Oriola

Author| Advocate| Mentor| Entrepreneur

Why survivors do not get help

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There are a number of reasons why survivors of human trafficking or domestic violence do not reach out for help. Whether it is a foreign born survivor or a U.S. citizen, a common factor that keeps a survivor from reaching out for help is fear.

In this video, I spoke specifically to foreign born survivors. In the immigrant communities, survivors hear all kinds of conflicting stories that prevent them from accepting help even when an advocate who has their best intentions show up or offer them help. For example, I worked with someone refused to go to the battered women’s shelter because she was told by friends and families that the people at the shelter are drug addicts.

There are many whose cultural practices or traditional beliefs prevent from getting help. I worked with a man who was constantly kneeling down to beg, a practice that is considered a taboo in his culture.

It is especially difficult for people in the immigrant population because they do not know or understand the efficacy of the resources that are available to them. I received an email some years ago through a form submission on Imprisoned Show from a male survivor that states, “For bukola. Just came across your story. Need to share my experience and the trafficking still going on against me. This lead to my being deaf and other health problems. Even this email, may be compromised because the crooks still hack into my emails and phones.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t help this young man because, even though I called the national hotline on his behalf, I was told that he has to make a call to them by himself. In the past one or two years now, Polaris Project has been taking emails and text messages, which is a very great step, especially for individuals like the one I quoted in this post. There are survivors who may not have access to phone but might be able to access a computer to reach out for help.

I am using this opportunity to call on all survivors out there to reach out for help today. Watch the video below.

You can read the first two two chapters of my book here.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out thecontact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.
Bye for now, until next time.


Recognizing Human Trafficking Victims

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Recognizing victims of human trafficking is still a question that I get asked whenever I went to speak at a gathering or talk about human trafficking one-on-one.
I just returned from Dallas last night where I have been meeting with service providers and law enforcement with a staff of the Department of State Trafficking in Person’s Office. It was a two-day meeting of listening to various people working to fight the crime talk about their work and the challenges they encounter.
And, they all have their opinion about what is working or what is not. Some have suggestions on how to make things work better to serve victims of human trafficking in their communities.
This was my first meeting with community members as Advisory Council member outside of Minnesota. It was indeed, a learning experience. There is a lot of work to be done in fighting human trafficking across the United States. Some of the opinions raised were not completely new to me and some are.


In addition, I attended a presentation at First Baptist Church, Arlington where there was a considerable amount of crowd gathered to learn about the issue of human trafficking. The church was the home church of the DOSTIPO staff that led our trip. We made it an interactive session where we both discussed what human trafficking looks like, the office of the DOSTIP, the newly formed U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, the myths and misconception about human trafficking and so on.
A question that was asked, which happens to be the same question that I was asked when I was talking to a mother and daughter who were waiting at the MSP International Airport last night was, “How do you recognize victim of human trafficking?”  My answer to the question is to listen with your eyes instead of your ears. You listen to your eyes by paying attention to nonverbal cues. Most of the time, victims of human trafficking are crying for help, but they do not do so with their mouth. They do it mainly with their eyes and their body.

When you see something that makes you feel doubtful, that is when you need to stay, think, and pay more attention. When I was a victim, I passed through nurses, doctors, neighbors, and clients who sometimes felt that something was not right, but they did not stop to think about it, let alone try to find out what might be wrong.

So, today, I encourage you to pay more attention and listen to your eyes. You might be the one to rescue a victim and make that person a survivor.

You can read the first two two chapters of my book here.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.
Bye for now, until next time.

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Happy Valentine’s Day: Human Trafficking in Katy, Texas

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This video is a quick chat about the human trafficking news that broke out last week from Katy, Texas.
It was about a couple, Chudy and Suzan Nsobundu, who trafficked their nanny from Nigeria.
According to news reports, they have been accused of visa fraud, forced labor, withholding documents, harboring, and so on.




The coupled allegedly denied their nanny fresh food, hygiene, medical attention, proper rest from work, and made her to drink strained milk from their children’s cereal bowl.
In September 2015, the nanny reached out for help. News reports revealed that someone called the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) and a case Manager from YMCA International Trafficked Persons Assistance Program helped her to escape and took her to a women’s shelter.
Think about the red flag that I mentioned in this video and seek for help if you can identify with any of them or refer someone for help if there are any of this element in a story they are telling you.
You can also contact, The Enitan Story, a Minnesota based nonprofit organization with a mission to advocate for victims and empower survivors of human trafficking at info@enitan.org.




Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.
Bye for now, until next time.

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PS: Join The Enitan Story students campaign against human trafficking. Subscribe below.

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Umbrella: Intercept the Trafficker Campaign

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Posing with district presidents and conference officers of the UMW in Minnesota
Posing with district presidents and conference officers of the UMW in Minnesota

I never thought about this song until I was about to start writing. “What song?” You may ask. It is Rihanna’s Umbrella song. In the lyrics she said, “You can stand under my umbrella.” Umbrella is used for protection during rain or shine. It is a handy tool for unfriendly weather.

I found out few days ago that the United Methodist Women are taking action to protect victims of human trafficking in the United States by using umbrella. They called it “You Intercept the Traffickers Photo Campaign” by opening an umbrella.

For a few years now, it has become public secret that there is usually sex trafficking, a form of human trafficking going on during the national game – Super Bowl. In fact, there are several reports about the FBI rescuing girls from sex trafficking during Super Bowl.  A Fox News Report on February 4, 2014 revealed that the FBI rescued 16 children who are as young as 13 years old during the games. The title of the report, Missing children rescued from Super Bowl sex trade in FBI sting, informed the reader that some of the rescued children have been reported missing by their families.





In anticipation of the possibility of some children falling prey of sex trafficking, the United Methodist Women are asking its members to open their umbrellas to raise awareness about the issue as the Super Bowl will take place at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on Sunday, February 5. According to an Alert issued by the women’s group, “The Super Bowl ranks second only to Thanksgiving as the day on which Americans consume the most food, and some of those who are trafficked will be serving food in restaurants or at catered parties related to the Super Bowl.”

They expressed the fear that some of them will be victims of labor trafficking who “…will clean hotel rooms, wash dishes, tidy nails…, deliver dry cleaning, or wash windows,” while others “will be trafficked as sex workers for escort services or in “gentlemen’s” clubs.”

Using sports language, they named the yellow dotted umbrella graphic End Zone, noting that the umbrella defense was named after the football defensive play created by the New York Giants coach, Steve Owen which “enabled the Giants to shut out the then formidable Cleveland Browns.”

The women encouraged their 800,000 members to take group pictures holding umbrellas with letters spelling out, “We are United Methodist Women opening umbrellas to intercept human trafficking.”  The women were asked to share their pictures with #UMWumbrellas on social media and also send such to the conference communicators.

I learned about the umbrella campaign when I attended the Planning Session of the Executive Conference Committee of the UMW in Minnesota. I was there at Coon Rapids United Methodist Church to talk about my new appointment as a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and my willingness to keep the line of communication open to listen to the public about the needs and how to improve on services for victims and survivors of human trafficking.

The meeting comprised of district presidents and conference officers of the UMW in Minnesota. I am looking forward to working more with these women to end human trafficking – sex and labor in our communities.

Open an umbrella and post it with #UMWumbrellas to join United Methodist Women to intercept human trafficking by showing survivors that you care.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.
Bye for now, until next time.

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PS: Join The Enitan Story students campaign against human trafficking. Subscribe below.

3 Types of visas for victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, and other crimes

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Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim When I was suffering as a victim of human trafficking and domestic violence for two years, I did not know that help was available. And, when I started helping others get help, one hundred per cent of them doubted that they could be free from their misery. I wrote about a particular person who was one of those that have received help through my story in one of my previous blogs. You can read about Hope in my article entitled, It’s world day against trafficking in persons: A personal reflection.

In today’s blog, I will be writing about the three types of visa that victims of crime, including human trafficking, domestic violence, and other types of crime can apply for to help set free like me and many others in the United States. These visas are the T, U, and VAWA visas. But first, I will like to quickly note that this piece is for informational purposes. Every case is unique and dealt with according to the discretion of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) based upon evidence presented to them. I will recommend speaking with an immigration lawyer to assess your case for validity.




T Visa
It is a non-immigrant visa that allows a victim of human trafficking remain and work in the United States legally for four years. It can lead to a permanent resident status, that is, the recipient is allowed to change his or her status from non-immigrant by applying for a green card. Qualifying family members of the T-Visa recipient can also be granted temporary status in the United States.
The annual cap for T-Visa is 5000. this means that if this cap has been reached in a year, other qualified applicants will be put on a waiting list until the following year.

U Visa
Like the T-Visa, a U-Visa recipient can also remain and work in the United States for four years after which he or she can apply for a green card as a permanent resident. Qualifying family members can also be granted status in the United States.

Unlike the T-Visa, there is a 10,000 cap for the U-Visa applicants. Other eligible applicants also have to wait until the following year once the limit has been reached in a year.

According to the USCIS, the intent of the T and U visas

  • Provides temporary status to certain victims of human trafficking and other qualifying crimes.
  • Strengthens law enforcement’s ability to investigate and prosecute human trafficking and other crimes.
  • Encourages trafficked, exploited, and abused victims to report crimes, even if they don’t have lawful immigration status.

VAWA
It is called Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), however, this visa is not only issued to women but also men. It is also available to children and elder parents who have suffered domestic violence in the hands of their family members in the United States. Unlike the T and U Visas that grant nonimmigrant status to the recipient, VAWA grants a green card to the recipient.

Evidence
Providing required evidence is helpful to the victim. USCIS requires victims to write their own stories in addition to affidavits from friends and families who are aware of the crime. Providing evidence from law enforcement, healthcare and social service providers are also vital in the process of getting restitution for a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence.

Family and Friends
Family and friends play important roles in helping victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. Therefore, if you have a family member or friend who might be a victim, you can help the person break free by sharing this kinds of information with them and also supporting them when they need an affidavit from you to make their case.

I will like to note here again like I have mentioned earlier that this article is just for information purpose. I am not an immigration lawyer. Seek the help of an immigration lawyer if you or someone you know might be a victim of human trafficking or domestic violence.



However, The Enitan Story is a Minnesota based nonprofit organization that provides direct services and referrals to victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. You can reach the organization by sending an email to info@enitan.org and you could be referred to legal service providers close to you if you are not in Minnesota.

For more detail and the kinds of forms to file and evidence to provide, you can download a document provided by the USCIS here.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.
Bye for now, until next time.

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Get a copy of the international best selling book by Bukola Oriola, A Living Label: An Inspirational Memoir and Guide.   Book Description: A Living Label is a memoir that documents some of the struggles and triumphs of the author as a survivor of labor trafficking and domestic violence in the U.S. Bukola Oriola’s goal is to inspire hope in other survivors that they can turn their lives around positively, regardless of what difficulty they might have passed through. She also provides practical solutions to the government, service providers, NGOs, and the general public on how to effectively engage with survivors, to value them as the subject matter experts they are. As someone who has dedicated her life to empowering other survivors, she has decided to contribute the proceeds from the book sales to survivors’ education or their businesses, starting with 100 survivors in the United States, Nigeria and Kenya. She believes that survivors want to be independent and contribute to their communities, and she wants to help survivors achieve this dream. Learn more from the inspiring author, Book Bukola now!
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