C H A P T E R V IT h e e n d o f t h e e x p l o i t a t i o n6.1 Extinction of the debt and the choice ofautonomyAs we have already mentioned, the extinction of the debt on the part of the girlsdoes not follow generalised and constant rules. From time to time, in fact theyvary: the amount of the debt, the reliability of the madam and the organisation inmaintaining the agreement, the means of payment.According to the testimony of the social operators and the Law Enforcement,the amount of the debt has considerably increased over the last years and today it isbetween a minimum of 30,000 Euros and a maximum of 70,000 Euros.Also variable is the amount of time necessary for the victim to extinguish thedebt. Testimony collected by the NGOs and associations interviewed speak about aperiod of between a minimum of one year and a maximum of three/four years.The earning capacity of the victim, her behaviour and above all her faithtowards the pact surely play an important role in accelerating the time forextinction. The unilateral review of the pact of the debt on the part of the madam,often related to a delay in the payments or to “bad behaviour” on the part of thegirl, is very frequent. The progressive increase in the debt seems to be a widelydiffused practise: it appears from the outside to be a penalty and has the effect ofincreasing the earnings of the organisation.“I should have paid 120 million (...) originally it was 60, then 70, then 80…then 90. (…) She was bad, she said I had earned quickly. She did not want me toleave” (Interview Victim No.10).In general, the impression from the direct and indirect testimony collected isthat the organisation attempts - with good results - to feed itself offering new workand earnings opportunities to the girls that are about to free themselves from thedebt, or are already freed. In this way, a fairly frequent result of the extinction ofthe debt is the transformation of the victim to madam. Naturally this is a gradualchange of role, in which the assumptions can be made even before the restitution ofthe debt.T<strong>here</strong> are many cases of girls attracted by earnings from prostitution whocontinue this work for themselves for a year or two, often living with their exmadam, and then, with savings aside, buy one or two girls to exploit.
“The problem” explains another girl interviewed “is that the girls who came<strong>here</strong> think: now that I have repaid everything, I will get one to pay me, so I willtake this money. For this reason it is a long road, a chain, this is the problem”(Interview Victim No.9).Obviously t<strong>here</strong> are women who intend to change their life: one of the victimsinterviewed remembers the day she extinguished her debt, the madam said to her:“Put aside a bit of money, I will buy a girl for you so you won’t work any more,considering that you don’t want to work anymore” (Interview Victim No.5). Theperson in question replied that money earned on the street did not interest her andthat shortly she would find work in a restaurant.However one must consider that the Nigerian women freed from the debt findmany difficulties in ending the relations with the persons involved in theprostitution market and above all the affective and material links with the madam.Emblematic in this sense is the indirect testimony relating to different cases w<strong>here</strong>the girl who paid her debt, even if she has found a job and chosen to change herlife, continues to pay the madam for some functions or services.These cases make one reflect on the strength exercised on the girls not only andnot so much by the wodoo rite itself, as much as in general the implicit and preexistingpact of faith of the word given before the members of the community (inwhich wodoo is only one of the distinctive signs). On the other hand these cases<strong>allo</strong>w us to understand how important, and never expexted in the results, is theaction of accompanying the victim towards a new life which associations andNGOs undertake, being involved in the fulfilment of the projects ex art. 18 d.lgs.286/1998, and in the fight against exploitation.It is often said that the extinction of the debt is procrastinated over time.However, sooner or later the moment of extinction will arrive. This moment willoften be accompanied by a party, rich and sumptuous, a universal demonstrationthat the madam is an honest and generous custodian of the pact. All the girls areinvited to the party, the organisation of which, according to some testimony isdirectly made with the joint earnings of different madams, all equally interested tosymbolically re-affirm the logic of the pact.The end of the exploitation is ratified by a gift that the woman is made to giveto the madam, as if thanks are due. The ambivalence of the figure of the madam isexemplified in this conversation between a madam and a woman, who has nearlyfinished paying her debt, who is asked with certain arrogance for a gift:“A: «The fact is t<strong>here</strong> is still 1.400,000 remaining, but bring me 1,000,000…(silent pause)…did you hear?»B: «O.K.!»A: «When will you buy my present?»B: «Mamma mia Mummy! I haven’t yet paid the million and you ask for apresent…I beg you Mummy!»
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TRAFFICKINGOF NIGERIAN GIRLSTO ITAL
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F O R E W O R D1. Objectives and st
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and who have identified the most si
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on the other hand, for those involv
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Case files analysed: Preventive det
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Table 2 - Socio-economic situation
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Table 3 - Nigerian citizens regular
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Table 5 - Social protection permiss
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Table 7 - Number of persons charged
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Table 8 - Detainee population sub-d
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and the United States enables this
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C H A P T E R IW a y s a n d p h a
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Figure No.2 - Edo State.It is not c
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Nigeria. From 1996 in Benin City an
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In this variegated framework, the d
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“Benin City is one of those State
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Various privileged witnesses of the
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In the first years of the traffic o
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pay considerable sums for lodging,
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The routesWe find at least three ty
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Figure No.5 - Trafficking routes th
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The journey overland through Africa
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new dispositions and contacts to co
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Then he sends her in a taxi to the
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T. remains in this house for 21 day
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