In the frames of the COALESCE project, and to mark World Antitrafficking Day 2022, we are sharing “In Time You Will Understand” by Armandine Love Saadio, supported by our partner organisation Cyprus Refugee Council within the COALESCE project. Armandine Love Saadio documents the life of a survivor of sexual exploitation and abuse, Rita, immersing the reader in the emotional turmoil of her journey, from child to woman. 

In this excerpt from her yet unpublished novel, we watch Rita struggle with being forced to abandon her dreams, which were but an illusion, paid for by Uncle Yves, a deposit on a life of submission. This testimony serves as a preamble to Rita’s life before trafficking: the abandoment of her studies due to a forced marriage, her father’s incestuous acts and grooming, and an abrupt end to her personal dreams and aspirations. These are some of the elements that are common in the lives of sexually exploited women, unknown to the wider public.