APRIL 14 • 2022 | 55

Then, at 16 years old, sup-
posed “friends” of their family 
(the traffickers) promised my 
mother’s parents that my mom 
would get an education and 
earn enough money to send 
back home if she went with 
them to the U.S. to be their 
housekeeper and take care of 
their elderly mother.
I asked my mom if she was 
excited to leave the Philippines. 
“
At first, yes, I was happy,
” she 
replied. “Then when you real-
ize as a 16-year-old that you’re 
leaving the country … leaving 
the people who you love, your 
mom and dad, your siblings … 
as a young kid, I was scared. I 
didn’t want to go, but I didn’t 
have any choice.
” 
My mom says the traf-
fickers handled all her travel 
paperwork, and they left the 
Philippines on Christmas Day 
1982. She arrived in Michigan 
just in time to see her first 
snowfall. 

THE HORROR BEGINS
My mom’s first night in the 
States quickly took a turn for 
the worst. The Filipino traf-
fickers kept my mom’s passport 
from her and kept her in their 
Metro Detroit home as an 
involuntary servant. She says 
she was overworked and lived 
in inhumane conditions, and all 
the promises they made were 
never fulfilled. 
“When I got to the house, 
they did not put me in a bed-
room. I had to find places in 
their home where I could sleep. 
No bed. No nothing. I slept 
with the dogs. Literally, like a 
beanbag.
”
My mom said that first night 
in the U.S. she cried herself to 
sleep and prayed she would 
wake up back home with her 
family. But the nightmare just 
kept getting worse. 
“I woke up in the cold by 
myself. [The traffickers] cele-
brated Christmas and then they 
left to go and celebrate some 

more with their friends … I was 
alone,
” she said. 
My mom said she did what-
ever was asked of her, which 
included manual labor through-
out the home and caring for an 
80-year-old woman and a baby. 
“Every single day, I would do 
some work outside … whether 
it be clearing the snow, mowing 
the lawn or cleaning rugs by 
myself.
” 
Neighbors would see her 
working hard and knew some-
thing was unusual. They saw a 
young woman doing so much 
work by herself, knowing that 
two big guys lived inside of the 
home. While the neighbors 
in the predominantly Polish 
neighborhood showed a bit of 
kindness toward my mother, 
it wasn’t easy for her to build 
relationships or make friends 
because the traffickers wouldn’t 
allow her to speak to anyone. 
For four years, she endured 
constant mistreatment. 
Without any money and 
knowing little to no English, her 
options seemed slim.
One night, my then 19-year-
old mother decided to rely on 
her faith and run away. 

THE GETAWAY 
While she didn’t speak English 
very well, she did manage to 
befriend a young Polish man 
in the neighborhood, whom 
we will call “Stan.
” My mom 
said she knew Stan had taken 
a liking to her and offered to 
take her wherever she needed 
to go to escape. They planned a 
scheme where she would gather 
up garbage bags acting as if she 
was taking out the trash. One of 
the bags was filled with all her 
belongings.
They agreed to meet at 1 p.m. 
in a nearby alleyway. But as the 
time got closer and closer, and 
as she began to take out the 
trash, the traffickers asked her 
to feed the baby.
“It was five minutes to 1 

Ben, age 22, outside his 
parents’ home

TOP: Remy and Ben 
sharing a kiss on 
their wedding day.
MIDDLE: Ben 
and Remy during 
wedding toast.
RIGHT: The Sweet 
clan all dressed up 
for a family friend’s 
wedding ceremony. 
Back row left to 
right: Remy and Ben; 
second row. Isaac, 
Amanda, Jeremy; 
front, Rachel. 

continued on page 56