Secretariat - Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

Begging children approaching drivers is a common sight in Tirana, Albania. This form of forced labour denies the children a proper upbringing and hinders their chances of a better future. (All Against Child Trafficking (BKTF)/Terre des Hommes)
Begging children approaching drivers is a common sight in Tirana, Albania. This form of forced labour denies the children a proper upbringing and hinders their chances of a better future. (All Against Child Trafficking (BKTF)/Terre des Hommes)

"Well, sometimes I talk to them politely and ask them why I'm not allowed to work, when I don't steal, when I do my work just like anyone else. But they say, 'You can't, you're not allowed, that's it'. They threaten to take me to the police station and beat me up. I say all right and go away. They were so dirty. They didn't believe me how things were at home, how I worked for my sister, how we don't have electricity at home. They didn't believe me until one day when they came to my home to see for themselves."

Bokca, 14 years old, begs at traffic lights, quoted in Children Speak Out - Trafficking Risk and Resilience in South-East Europe, Save the Children.

"It's important when no one has control over you ... you're human regardless of what happened in the past, you've got some problems, maybe with yourself, but that's what I needed, to be able to go out, and socialise, and not make the shelter my whole world."

Anonymous trafficked victim, quoted in Listening to Victims - Experiences of Identification, Return and Assistance in South Eastern Europe, TRM Project, International Centre for Migration Policy Development.