Legal migrants remain vulnerable to trafficking | Migration
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people enter wealthy countries on temporary work visas, hoping to earn a living and support their families. For many, those visas undoubtedly offer a chance to earn more money and build a more stable life. But for others, they become another source of vulnerability and abuse. Consider the case of Larisa. While browsing Facebook, she found an advertisement promising domestic work in Germany, a good salary and paid travel expenses. A mother of three from a remote village in Moldova, she left her children behind to chase that opportunity and lift her family out of poverty. But when she arrived, the reality was very different. She was taken to a remote town, housed with other women and stripped of control over her documents. For a year, she says, she was forced to clean homes and care for elderly people for up to 20 hours a day without pay and under constant watch. The International Organization for Migration later identified her case as an example of trafficking through a seemingly …
