Anthony Bunko - Maam Anna: The Remarkable Story of a Human Trafficking Rescuer

These are human beings. I see them as my children.

Anna Rodriguez

Maam Anna

The Anna Rodriguez Story
The Remarkable Story of a Human Trafficking Rescuer

Anna Rodriguez

as told to Anthony Bunko

Maam Anna

The Anna Rodriguez Story
The Remarkable Story of a Human Trafficking Rescuer

Copyright 2013 Anna Rodriguez

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, except for passages excerpted for the purposes of review, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information, or to order additional copies, please contact:

TitleTown Publishing, LLC
P.O. Box 12093 Green Bay, WI 54307-12093
920.737.8051 | titletownpublishing.com

Editorial Consultant: Mike Josephson
Editor: Amanda Bindel
Cover Design: Janice Rossi
Intrior Design: Erika L. Block

PUBLISHERS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:

Rodriguez, Anna, 1957
Maam Anna, the Anna Rodriguez story : the remarkable story of a human trafficking rescuer / Anna Rodriguez as told to Anthony Bunko. -- Green Bay, WI : TitleTown Publishing, c2013.

p. ; cm.
ISBN: 978-0-9888605-4-4

Summary: Human trafficking has infiltrated not only the international community but the United States. Maam Anna is a modern-day abolitionist and hero. Her memoir puts the reader inside human trafficking and chronicles how one woman dared to track and hunt traffickers and recover stolen people being sold as property. Her story shows that one courageous person really can make a difference. Survivor updates are included.--Publisher.

1. Rodriguez, Anna, 1957- 2. Human trafficking--United States. 3. Child trafficking--United States. 4. Abduction--United States. 5. Human trafficking--United States--Prevention. 6. Abduction--United States--Prevention. 7. Human trafficking victims--United States--Personal narratives. I. Bunko, Anthony. II. Title. III. Title: The Anna Rodriguez story.

HQ281 .R63 2013
306.3/620973--dc23 1303

(Names and some details throughout this book have been changed to protect the innocent.)

The Anna Rodriguez Story
The Remarkable Story of a Human Trafficking Rescuer

Anna Rodriguez

as told to Anthony Bunko

The Ricky Martin Foundation is very grateful to Anna Rodriguezs commitment to end human trafficking. Annas activism and knowledge regarding the second most lucrative crime in the world has undoubtedly strengthened our mission to educate and protect children and youth against this atrocity as well as safeguard their human rights.

Ricky Martin, singer/performer

I would like dedicate this book to my family, friends, colleagues, supporters and, most of all, the victims and survivors of human trafficking around the world. I would also like to dedicate this book and the work I do to my son, Jose Gabriel, who passed away at the age of forty-three days due to a heart condition. He is my inspiration and my guardian angel who guides and protects me every single day. I love you and miss you!

Peace, love, freedom and faith are the four most important words in the universe.

Anna Rodriguez

I dedicate this book to my parents who have always been there for me whenever I needed them. Also to the remarkable Anna who has given me such an insight into the terrible injustice which exists in the world today and the bravery and struggle some people face in their daily lives to overcome it. Stay free.

Anthony Bunko

With her knees tucked up to her chin, nineteen-year-old Chica Garcia sat on a thin mattress on the dirt floor of her small kitchen. Next to her, wrapped in an old tattered blanket, her twenty-day-old baby girl lay fast asleep. The newborn had been ill with a fever for a few days and her constant crying made it a trying time for everyone in the household. It was so hot and humid Chica moved her modest bed and the sick infant from the bedroom she shared with her six brothers and one sister to the kitchen because it was the coolest place in the house, and even then it was unbearably hot.

However, it wasnt just her babys illness the teenager was worried about. Through the gap in the kitchen door, by the light of several candles, she could see her father slumped in a chair in the adjacent living room while Jose Tecum paced around, flailing his arms about. The shadow of his short, thick frame bounced off the walls.

They were both drinking, heavily.

I want her. Im going to marry her, Tecums voice echoed around the room.

Chicas father didnt reply. He sat there silent, not daring to speak or even look Tecum in the eye.

The short, middle-aged guest was a powerful man in Patachaj, a small rural village in Guatemala. He belonged to an influential family; his brother was the mayor who ruled the small, police-less village with fear. Jose was a coyote. By smuggling people across borders, he made a great deal of money. The brothers took what they wanted when they wanted it and were ruthless to those that resisted.

I want you to hand her over to me, Tecum spoke again. I will look after her.

Chicas skin crawled at the sound of his deep voice. If her baby werent so ill, she would have run away and hid until the monster had gone.

Nnno, her father slurred his words as he finally spoke to the man in front of him. She doesnt wa wa. want to go with you.

She cradled the baby in her arms, rocking back and forth trying her best to drown out the heated conversation coming from the next room by quietly singing a lullaby to the infant. The little one was burning up.

Tecum poured more liquor into Chicas fathers glass. He sat down, changing his approach. His voice softer, Ive already had her, you know. If you dont let her come with me and she gets pregnant again I wont help her or you.

Tears rolled down Chicas cheeks as she remembered the day he followed her to the market. It was a Wednesday afternoon. She hadnt noticed him at first, but she knew he would be there somewhere, watching her, waiting to talk to her. Hed been stalking and harassing her for months. On that day he appeared by her side as she bought some fruit for the family dinner. Chica, he muttered, can I walk with you?

She ignored him, took her bag and carried on through the crowded streets.

Chica but I love you, he followed after her.

She shrugged him off.

I want you, Chica.

She raced back to her house; he followed closely behind. When she got there, no one was home. Her baby was with her mother; her father was out working; and her brothers and sister were at school. Without asking permission, Tecum followed her inside.

Go away! She tried to push him out. He grabbed her and dragged her into a bedroom.

No. She kicked and thrashed struggling to pull free. Please just go away, she begged, but it was no use. He was too strong and too determined. He pushed her onto the bed and forced himself upon her. She tried to scream, but he covered her mouth with his hand. He raped her right there on her parents bed. As soon as it was over, he left and, strangely, took her shoes and a hair clip with him.

The sound of a glass smashing against the wall brought Chica back to the present and the conversation in the other room; more raised voices, more liquor. She prayed he would just leave. He made her skin crawl.

As much as the noise of the commotion bothered her; the silence frightened her more. The hush meant her father had passed out from the whiskey Jose Tecum had brought with him and insisted they drink. Chicas father couldnt resist a drink. Tecum played on it. She knew Tecum would come to her and rape her again. It had gone on since the day he had followed her homehe appeared every few days, demanding Chica leave with him, threatening her parents, getting her father drunk and then forcing himself on her.