Apolinaire
with her son - Mono Region, Benin
When Apolinaire was 11 years old, her mother was no longer
able to support her. Unemployment in the area was high, so
when a woman offered to take her to Benin for a well paid
job, Apolinaire accepted. She hoped that she would save enough
money to come back and live with her mother.
But when she arrived in Benin, the woman left her at a
stranger's house and did not return. Apolinaire began to
panic, realising that the woman had deceived her. She ran
to the local police station but her story was met with blank
faces. With nowhere else to go and no one to turn to for
help, she had to return to the stranger's house. A week
later the stranger took her to another family, and she was
told that she would marry their son. The father, who brokered
the deal, paid the stranger the equivalent of £12.
Apolinaire, now 20, lives in Benin with her husband and
son. She still dreams of being reunited with her mother,
and longs to return to Togo with her son.
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