Slavery in Blue Ash: The D'Souza family's story of human trafficking and how it happened here
'My dream was like a hell'
Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
EMILY MAXWELL | WCPO
BLUE ASH, Ohio – Harold and Dancy D'Souza would slip into their small apartment around 2 a.m., slowly coaxing the door open after working 15 hours straight.
They had to be careful.
Their 4-year-old son, Rohan, slept curled up against the door each night, waiting for his mom and dad as his 7-year-old brother, Bradly, slept on the floor a few feet away.
"They were sleeping like rats," Harold D'Souza said, tears welling in his eyes. "That internally destroyed us."
The D'Souzas didn't know it at the time. But they had become victims of human trafficking – a criminal enterprise that experts say is second in profitability only to the drug trade.
The International Labour Organization estimated the total market value of human trafficking to be $32 billion in 2005. Those profits have since ballooned to $96 billion globally, according to a study released by the Ricky Martin Foundation in May.
In Greater Cincinnati, it's difficult to say exactly how many victims there are. Human trafficking, especially for labor, is typically hidden from view and tough to spot, said Ohio Rep. Denise Driehaus, D-Clifton.
But it's here, she said, and the same infrastructure that makes the region attractive for lawful businesses makes it ripe for trafficking people, both for labor and the sex trade.
"This is especially prevalent along the I-75 corridor," Driehaus said. "You don't always know it when you see it. We're trying to raise awareness of all of it."
That's what the D'Souza family wants to do, too.
Now that they are free from the situation that enslaved their family for more than a year, they are telling their story.
Working long hours, every day of the week without pay was not the life Harold D'Souza expected when he convinced his wife to leave their home in India and move to the United States for better opportunities back in 2003.
His employer had secured an H-1B Visa for him to work in the U.S. as a business development manager for a local manufacturing company. He was told he would earn as much as $75,000 per year – a small fortune compared to his pay in India.
"I came on a promise, a faith and to live the American Dream," he said. "The faith got changed to fear, the promise got transformed into slavery, and my dream was like a hell."
