The U.K. recently passed the much-contested Rwanda Bill that allows asylum seekers arriving in the U.K. to be sent to the East African nation for their claims to be considered. But rights groups and government officials decry the human cost of its passage, such as the story of a young mother and sex trafficking survivor who is now terrified for her and her daughter’s future.

“Her life reads like a horror story”

In 2016, Joaddan (name changed to protect her identity) fled her home country of Cameroon in fear for her life after her father was arrested for opposing the government as part of the pro-independence movement. She landed in Nigeria where she was abandoned by smugglers and targeted by sex traffickers, being raped by multiple men a night. With help, Joaddan finally escaped to Europe only to be further trafficked into domestic servitude and modern slavery by the man who helped her get into Europe.

Joaddan managed to escape again and was identified ­”conclusively” as a trafficking victim under the U.K. Government’s own system, the National Referral Mechanism. She also provided evidence of her father’s arrest in Cameroon. Despite all this, she was still refused the right to stay in Scotland where she has been living with her 5-year-old daughter since her daughter’s birth.

Joaddan’s MP Anne McGlaughlin for Glasgow North condemned the decision saying,

The Home Office agrees she was trafficked here, it knows the barbarity she faced for years but it doesn’t think she is worthy of our help. How can it be so brutal?

McLaughlin further dubbed the decision as “cruel”, stating that Joaddan’s life reads “like a horror story” and pointing out that Joaddan has suffered unimaginable cruelty at the hands of numerous individuals. Tragically, the British Government has now been added to that list, and thanks to the passage of the Rwanda Bill, the suffering may not be over for Joaddan and her daughter.

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