In collaboration with:

Sold

“Some years ago I found out there is a shelter for victims of human trafficking in Amsterdam. I wanted to know more and started researching. Soon the idea of a portrait series of victims came to mind. I was sure I was not the only one who knew close to nothing about the world of human trafficking… It started by visiting the shelter weekly to get to know everybody who worked and lived there. Gaining trust was most important. It took a lot of tea, coffee and a fun fashion shoot with the girls to get them on board.”

“Sold” is a series of anonymous portraits of victims of human trafficking. The portraits are shot in the shelters where these women and men temporary find safety and a home. And, maybe, the start of a better life.

“ I had a tough childhood. At 19, I was a mum and living in a shelter. A ‘friend’ there hooked me up to the perfect guy. He had everything I could have wished for – good looks, a nice car – and I was very impressionable. Head over heels in love, I was even willing to work in prostitution for him. Not least because he would break up with me if I didn’t.I ended up working for him for four years, first in the east of the country and later in the west, without ever earning a penny. I never even asked. He was tough on me and treated me like a product, but I was happy with every sweet gesture he made, like picking me up and dropping me off, babysitting my child, and on one occasion even helping me with my house. I hung on for years.”
“Earlier this year a friend of mind invited me to spend a vacation at his place, some-where in the Netherlands. I have trouble telling what happened to me there. After four weeks of abuse I fled and went to the police to tell them my story. My ‘friend’ can no longer be arrested, since apparently he has returned to my country. This means I can’t go home. I am ashamed and scared. The wounds are still raw and the perpetrators still at large.”
“When I was a young girl, I was entered into an arranged marriage. I also ended up having children with this man. When he found out I was lesbian, he didn’t want any-thing to do with me and my kids anymore. I was a midwife and ran my own practice, but no men would let their wives come to my clinic anymore. I had been in contact with a group of people who understood me for a while, when one day this conspicuous woman turned up. She turned out to be Dutch and promised me a nice future in the Netherlands. Both my mother and I had doubts as to her intentions, but I went with her nonetheless. I did have to pay a lot of money for my trip to the Netherlands; money I had to borrow from other relatives. After a terribly long journey through Europe I finally arrived at a small apartment in the Netherlands. After a couple of hours’ sleep the cheery lady woke me up. She told me I would need to pay her for lodgings. Because I had no money left, I had to work for her. After weeks of being locked in a room having to entertain various men, I fled. I didn’t know where to go, until someone took me to police. My children are in my mother’s care. She doesn’t know anything yet about what hap-pened. I am afraid to tell her. Once I’ve settled down and know what to do next, I will try to tell her. The shame I feel is too immense and being away from my children hurts.”

Ernst Coppejans Selected for NEW VISIONS 2018

Ernst Coppejans, (1974, Wissenkerke, The Netherlands), after a career in product design graduated from the PhotoAcademy Amsterdam and has been working as a freelance photographer ever since.

The people, the lives they live and the choices they make, fascinate him. His concepts emerge from his own experiences and curiosity about the lives of extraordinary people. The strength of the underdog is the central theme in the work of Ernst Coppejans.