Franck's story

Franck was working in his home country in central Africa as a manager in a factory. He was offered an opportunity of a sponsorship to came to  UK for a similar position in a factory. He went through all the hoops he was asked, such as having a medical examination and passing an English exam.

“Back home I had been given a lot of promises of a job in the UK with good pay and a contract. I was happy.” He was told to get to the UK and then he would be hired as a manager and paid £5,000 a month and that he would be living and working in London.

He was excited as they drove thinking  to himself ; “now I’m going to make my dreams come true.”

“But when I arrived here something was strange. I was taken to a  six-room house with more than 25 people living there and not at the address I had been told to put on my visa. I knew no one there.”

Then the British lady, who was his manager and had made all the arrangements for Franck, including picking him up at the airport, took his passport. When Franck queried this she said it was to keep it safe and was normal practice. Next he was taken to work and started a week’s training not in managerial role but on production duties. He worked from 6 in the morning until 10 at night and was picked up from the house and taken to work each day. This lasted six months until the police arrived at the house one day.


“At the end of the month I hardly got any pay. Everything was a challenge. My physical and mental health became bad. She told me if I didn’t do everything she said she would send me back home. I knew no-one here. I was afraid.” This lasted six months until the police arrived at the house one day.

“Finally, on the day the police came she wasn’t at the house, so I could speak to them. The police told me The Salvation Army were going to look after me. When I arrived with them at this safe house, that was the beginning of my dream. It was a relief. Before I was in hell.”

The Salvation Army brought him to a safe house where he has been staying and receiving support since then.

“ The people at The Salvation Army welcomed me, gave me a room of my own where I could sleep and begin to enjoy life.”

Then Franck started to worry that his perpetrator would find him but the police and his support worker reassured him. He later learned that the moment he had left his manager had withdrawn his sponsorship so The Salvation Army helped him find a solicitor to sort out his legal status.
“ I understand now why they call it a safe house. The staff here respect me.
The most important thing is that I now feel that I’m a human being again because, before, I lost my dignity, I didn’t feel like a human because that’s how she treated me.”