I answered my phone on July 19 around 4 :00 pm- one year to the day that Kiki had been detained because she did not have identification. The message was when can you be in Louisiana to pick Kiki up she is being released. My answer was I am leaving now.
She was first identified as a victim of trafficking in 2005. Due to police not signing a law enforcement declaration after she had reported the trafficking there was never a T-visa filed for her. Over the years she tried to find work, start a family, and become a part of society. instead she was forced to survive on the margins and patiently wait 5 years for recognition that might never arrive.
To simply explain her experience would be comparable to holding your breath under water. Time becomes compressed and the pressure for relief increased with each moment.
Well she has finally seem a glimmer of hope. She is free and will receive her visa soon. Only then can she begin healing - 5 years late. See the update below on Texas Monthly's web site. The Lost Girls ( the story that follows Kiki) received the most views of any story- it will also appear in Reader's Digest in September.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2010-04-01/feature3.php
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