From 16 hours of unpaid job in Russia to a blooming business in Tajikistan. Ganjina’s story

Up to 16 hours of work a day, living in a utility room, hunger, stress, and depression, and humiliation – that was Ganjina’s life for two years in Russia, where she went looking for job and prosperity, but found herself locked in a labor slavery.

Road to slavery: Ganjina followed the pass of thousands other Tajik women and flied to Russia in 2011, where she was promised a job of a waitress in a restaurant with a good salary. However, starting already from the first day she found herself with no passport, which was seized by her employer and forced to serve as a cleaner, waitress and a dishwasher, receiving zero ruble, but small portion of a food. She had to work for 12 to 16 hours per day, live in the utility room in horrible conditions and often starving.  The backbreaking work worsened Ganjina’s health and disabled her from continuing the job. Noticing her poor health, the exploiter returned her passport and bought her a ticket back to Tajikistan to avoid problems.

Crushed hopes: Back at home, Ganjina faced other problems.  She tells: “I was diagnosed with spinal hernia and my husband divorced me claiming I was absent for two years, returned with nothing, and will not be able to give a birth. I was looking for a job in my hometown, but with no luck. I was broken and hopeless”.

Light in the heart: Ganjina’s friend once directed her to a shelter run with USAID and IOM Tajikistan support, where she received psychosocial and medical assistance, was assisted to start her business and learned how to run it. The whole package of recovering and reintegration assistance was provided under IOM Tajikistan’s ‘Dignity and human rights’ project. Ganjina now rents a place in a local market selling children’s clothes.

Future boss: Ganjina is now financially stable and feels confident in herself. She says, she would not be able to stand up again in the life without the assistance provided by USAID and she is grateful to everyone who extended a hand of help to her. She shares with us her plans on creating jobs for others: “I plan to increase the supply of clothing and hire two assistants in managing my business. But surely, I will be a different boss that the one I had”.