A young Belizean woman who has only been identified to the international press as “Jamelia,” disappeared from Belize more than ten years ago.
She has now resurfaced in the United States as a young woman of 23, and the shocking charge is that she had been sold into bondage to an American woman by one of her parents. It happened when she was only 11 years old, and the other parent thought that she had been adopted and that she had been living a better life.
First aired on ABC News as a part of Human Trafficking Awareness in the US, the investigation tells the story of how young Jamelia, now 23, after having been brought to the US, was forced into domestic servitude for the woman’s family from Clovis in the State of New Mexico. She spent about 10 years in this servitude until she was rescued about a year ago.
She has now been freed from that servitude and is seeking legal action against her captor.
A Belizean man has come forward to Amandala and told us that the young woman is his daughter. He told us that he is, at this point, a little hesitant to make an official comment because other members of his family are advising him to stay quiet since Jamelia’s ordeal is rife with major controversy.
It is uncertain at this point if Belize authorities will seek legal action against the mother for her part in this “situation”, and as a result, he has not given us a full interview. He has told us, however, that since he has come forward to other sections of the media, he has received several urgent calls from human trafficking officials.
The father said that he feels an obligation to Jamelia because he didn’t know about her ordeal.
And while the trial for Jamelia’s captor is pending, it is unclear whether she will stay in the US when the trial is concluded.