by Shyima Hall
Those words are probably similar to the words that were used to bring attention to my captors and to me. It’s only a few sentences, and you can remain anonymous if you want.
What happens next will probably depend on what state you live in and the specific circumstances about the people in question. Is the suspected slave a child or an adult? What is the person being held in bondage being forced to do? What are their living conditions? Do they speak English? Are they United States citizens? The answers to these questions, along with many more, will determine the next course of action.
More than likely some member of law enforcement will interview you either by phone or in person. Your information will then be included in their investigation. It may take many weeks, but when officials are sure, they will plan a rescue, and possibly an arrest. You, however, may never know the details, or the result.
When I was rescued, I had no idea that people who worked for the United States government had been planning for weeks to rescue me. What I knew at the time was that people came into the house, and one of them pulled me out. I did not know that many carefully detailed plans had been made, along with contingencies. If The Dad did or said this, then officials would move here and do that. If The Mom was home, then people would move to this specific location inside the house. My rescuers planned for every possibility to make my rescue as safe as it could be for me.
I was beyond terrified when I was rescued. For years I had been told that if the police came to get me, bad things would happen, things that were far worse than what I’d lived with every day. Plus, bad things would happen to my family back in Egypt. That’s why I was mistrustful and afraid to admit anything to my rescuers about my circumstances. Ten years later I am still slow to trust, and may always be. Many rescued slaves are like this. They don’t know whom to trust and, like me at that point in time, may know nothing about the customs or legal system in the United States.
Living in bondage might be all the person can remember. He or she might be frightened to be out of captivity and not know which end is up. They need time. It was only around those few people who gently, constantly, and consistently asked if I was okay, if I needed anything, that I let my guard down.
Mark Abend was one of these people. He acted like he cared, and over time I realized that he truly did. But a former slave won’t come to that conclusion quickly. She won’t be pressured. She won’t operate on your time frame. She might not even be cooperative—at first. If she is lucky enough to have quality people around her as I did, then she will come around. Eventually.
After I was rescued and had time to think, I made a decision. I knew I could do one of two things. I could become a helpful resource to my rescuers and move on with my life, or draw into myself and become a victim. I wanted a full life. I wanted to live, to leave my past in the past, so for me there was only one choice. God was part of my decision too. I felt in my heart that He had worked hard to get me rescued, so I needed to honor His work by making as much out of my life as I could. And I have.
More than seventeen thousand new slaves are brought into the United States every year. And more are being rescued than ever before. That’s why it is important to know that a rescued slave could show up in your school, workplace, or neighborhood. That person is going to need a lot of love, care, and patience.
If your path crosses that of a former slave in a legal, professional, or friendship capacity, I hope you understand that they may not want to talk about it. Instead of pushing, be tolerant. Be kind and caring. Most of all, be a friend, because you may be the only friend this newly rescued person has.
I am lucky to have found wonderful friends who have become my surrogate family. These people are small in number but huge in heart, and I trust them completely. That is something I could not have done a few short years ago. I look at my life now and see only a future where I will do even more to stop human trafficking. If this book leads to even a single rescue, then my time in bondage was worth it.
I believe there is a reason, a purpose, for everything in this life, and I know that my purpose is to help put a permanent stop to this terrible crime. With the help of your vigilant eyes and ears, every child, every person, can live a wonderful life of their own choosing. I not only believe this can happen. I believe it will.
EPILOGUE
The day before I took my citizenship test, I realized I was pregnant. Talk about a nerve-wracking day! I was already nervous about taking the test. Much rested on my becoming a citizen. One way or another I was going into law enforcement to help catch other human traffickers and also help people like me who have been held in bondage. But first I had to become a citizen of the United States.
If the test weren’t enough stress, realizing that I was pregnant put my emotions completely over the top. My relationship with Daniel had become quite serious, but like many young people, we had not planned a pregnancy. I was concerned about what his reaction to the news might be and I was anxious about how the pregnancy would affect my rheumatoid arthritis.
Amber was the first person I called. She came over and we got five different pregnancy tests—to be absolutely sure. All were positive. Now that I knew for sure that a baby was on the way, Amber helped me focus on the most immediate issue, passing my citizenship test. I would still be pregnant after the test, and could deal with my feelings about it at that time. We spent the rest of the evening studying.
The next day I realized that Amber was right. After I passed my test, I took time to make more sense of what was going on inside my body. At this time Daniel and I had been dating for about nine months. We were still trying to sort out what our future was long term. How would the baby affect that? I wondered.
My pregnancy is proof that the only surefire method of birth control is abstinence, so I hope young men and women who read this book consider that before they let hormones and young love take over. A baby is an expensive responsibility—one that changes your life, usurps your time, and keeps you from fun times with your friends. But I knew right away that I was up for it. I wanted to keep my baby.
Part of my decision was based on the fact that I did not want to do to my son or daughter what my parents had done to me. I could not imagine anyone else raising my child, and I knew from that point on that even though I was going to have a career in law enforcement, my life was now dedicated to the best interests of my child.
I was quite nervous regarding my potential parenting skills because I didn’t have too many positive mom role models to draw from. But Amber, Teresa, Karla, PaNou, and my other friends made me understand that what I needed to do was act out of love. Love was what drove a mother’s instinct and was what would carry a family through. That, along with a few parenting books!
I didn’t tell Daniel for several weeks because it took that long for me to process this little surprise. I also went to the doctor before I told him. That way I would have all the facts I needed to pass along to him. When I finally broke the news, Daniel went through the same gamut of emotions that I had, including shock, nervousness, and fear.
On top of starting to integrate the idea of a baby into our lives, we had to figure out what to do about us. We decided that when my lease ran out on my apartment, I would move in with him. Daniel had recently bought a three-bedroom home. He didn’t have any furniture yet, so when we moved mine in, the house looked great.
By the time I was four months along, we had both adjusted to the idea of coparenting our baby. Daniel’s large family was supportive, as were my friends. I began to feel much calmer about my ability to parent a child and about the future of Daniel and me as a couple. By my fourth-month appointment Daniel and I were beyond thrilled to see the shape of our little girl on the ultrasound. We stared and stared at the image on the monitor. This was our baby!
People have told me what wise choices I have made in my friends, and my friends do encourage me a lot. Anything I need, no matter what it is, they are there to help. Daniel is the same way. He is truly one in a millio
n and started becoming an active dad well before Athena was born. He read many books on pregnancy and babies, and about becoming a dad. He went to every doctor’s appointment with me and was kind and caring on days when I was not feeling well.
Many women with rheumatoid arthritis find that their symptoms lessen when they are expecting, and that was true for me. Most of my symptoms were still there, but not to the same extent as before I was pregnant and after our baby arrived. I didn’t want to do anything that might harm Athena before she was born, so I stopped taking all of my RA medication. I had a single steroid shot during my pregnancy, because the pain and stiffness had gotten bad enough that I couldn’t stand it, but other than that, until I stopped breast-feeding, my medication consisted of hot baths and walking.
Athena was due on July 23, 2012, but I was scheduled to be induced on July 19 because Athena was becoming too heavy for my arthritic legs to handle. Daniel and I decided in the beginning that we wanted to raise our daughter to be a strong woman who felt free to express her own thoughts and ideas. We didn’t have to worry about that, because Athena was already taking charge. On the way to the hospital to be induced, my water broke. Our baby was going to be born on her terms.
Several hours later I held our six pound, fifteen-ounce bundle of joy. The look of pure love on Daniel’s face was indescribable, and I was so overcome with emotion that I could barely breathe. We had been excited to see what our baby would look like, and I was thrilled to see Daniel’s cheeks and my nose. Athena is the perfect combination of us both.
My early misgivings aside, I have found that I love being a mom. If I have a fault here, it is that I snuggle with Athena too much. I never want to put her down. I am totally attached to her, but she is attached to her daddy, too. Daniel has turned out to be such a great dad. He changes more than his share of diapers and loves caring for her as much as I do. Daniel and I want the best for Athena, so we have begun putting money away for her college education.
Because of Athena, my priorities in life have both changed and become more solid. Everything I do in life now will be to make her feel safe, secure, and happy. But because of Athena I want to become a police officer or ICE agent more than ever. I want to show my daughter that women can make a difference in areas where change is most needed. I want to impress upon her that in addition to making a wonderful home she can be an active, productive, successful woman outside of the house. The best way I can show her how to do that is to lead by example. Plus, the last thing I want Athena to be is the cowed, subservient, naïve, uneducated young girl that I was. Athena may have put my law enforcement goals on hold for a year or so, but I will get there.
I want Athena to have the sense of family that I missed out on. She has a wonderful set of grandparents on her dad’s side, as well as many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. While there is no biological family in my life right now, my friends Amber, Teresa, PaNou, Karla, and many others have become my family here in the United States. My definition of “family” is those people who will love and support you no matter what, and these people do that for me.
I don’t know why my early life was as hard and unfair as it was, but our experiences—good and bad—shape us into who we become. Today I am completely happy and look forward to many wonderful years with my family and friends. I also look forward to putting a few captors behind bars. If you are a trafficker, watch out. I am getting ready to come after you. I know that eventually we will put an end to the terrible custom of slavery. I hope that it is sooner rather than later. With everyone’s help and support, maybe my wish will come true.
Mahshi Warak Areesh Recipe
1 lb. fresh tender grape leaves
1½ cups uncooked rice
2 cups ground or chopped meat, preferably lamb
1 medium-size tomato, chopped (optional)
1½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 cups cold water
2 medium-size tomatoes, sliced
2 whole garlic bulbs (a bulb is the whole head of garlic)
Several meat bones
8 garlic cloves crushed with salt
½ cup lemon juice
1 tsp. dried mint
Soften and blanch grape leaves by dipping a few at a time in boiling, salted water. Set aside.
Wash rice, and mix with ground meat, chopped tomato, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and ½ cup cold water.
Stuff one leaf at a time: Place a teaspoon of stuffing in the center of the leaf. Then fold the bottom of the leaf up over the stuffing, fold from each side to the middle, and roll tightly to form a cylinder about three inches long and somewhat thicker than a cigar.
Place layer of tomato slices with whole garlic, meat bones, and crushed garlic with salt in bottom of pressure cooker pan.
Cover with the stuffed leaves arranged side by side in layers.
Sprinkle with lemon juice and add salt to taste.
Add remaining water. Cook under pressure for 12 minutes.
Open cooker and simmer uncovered until sauce is thickened.
Taste sauce. Add more lemon and salt if necessary, then allow leaves to cool in sauce.
Drain sauce into a bowl.
Lift rolls out one by one and arrange on serving platter. Cover with sauce. Serve cold. Prepare a day ahead, if possible, for best flavor.
© Lisa Wysocky
Born in 1989 in Egypt, SHYIMA HALL was the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into domestic slavery. Shyima worked for a wealthy family and served them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors brought Shyima to the United States on an illegally obtained temporary visa. It took two years after landing in Orange County, California, for Shyima to be rescued by Child Protective Services. In 2011 Shyima realized her dream of becoming an American citizen. Shyima hopes to one day join the police department, and to eventually become a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Shyima lives in Riverside County, California.
SIMON & SCHUSTER • NEW YORK
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An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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SimonandSchuster.com
This book is a memoir. It reflects the author’s present recollections of her experiences over a period of years. Some names and identifying details have been changed and some dialogue has been recreated from memory.
Text copyright © 2014 by Shyima Hall
Jacket photograph copyright © 2014 by Sandy Honig
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Book design by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Jacket Design by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Jacket Photograph Copyright © 2014 by Sandy Honig
The text for this book is set in Adobe Caslon Pro.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hall, Shyima.
Hidden girl : the true story of a modern-day child slave / Shyima Hall
with Lisa Wysocky.—First Edition.
pages cm
Audience: Grade 9 to 12
<
br /> ISBN 978-1-4424-8168-8 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-1-4424-8170-1 (eBook)
1. Child slaves—Juvenile literature. 2. Child slaves—United States—Juvenile literature. 3. Child abuse—United States—Juvenile literature. 4. Foster parents—United States—Juvenile literature.
I. Wysocky, Lisa, 1957—II. Title.
HD6231.H35 2014
362.7’7—dc23
[B]
2013011860
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Mahshi Warak Areesh Recipe
About Shyima Hall