The Association of Albanian Girls and Women, founded by Amy Sebes, has an innocuous name; but it combats a pernicious offense. In Albania, one of Europe’s poorest countries, the fall of communism in 1991 meant the end of dictatorship and isolation, but also led to a rise in organized crime. The AAGW helps victims of human trafficking, and their member statement opens with the declaration: “We are not prostitutes. We deserve respect.”
Three years ago, Sebes followed her husband, Tom Vajda, ’88, to his post as chief of the political and economic section at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana. Sebes, a high school teacher, volunteered with the International Organization for Migration, which runs a shelter for trafficking victims. Sebes started AAGW to help women who have escaped their traffickers find a new place in society.
These young women typically were kidnapped or lured by the promise of a job, and then raped, beaten and forced into prostitution in nearby countries such as Greece and Italy. Few can return to their homes because of the stigma attached to prostitution—or for fear of attracting deadly attention from their former pimps. According to the U.S. State Department’s June 2003 report on human trafficking, an estimated 5,000 Albanian women, out of the country’s 3 million people, have become trafficking victims over the past decade.
The association seeks “to help these girls regain some of the dignity that has been stripped from them, and also be a source of empowerment.” Last year AAGW opened a store to sell handicrafts made by members and other local charitable organizations. AAGW products include knitted teddy bears, embroidered pillowcases and olive oil soaps.
Secretary of State Colin Powell presented Sebes with the U.S. State Department’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerism, an honor given each year to one foreign-service spouse in each of the State Department’s five bureaus. Sebes and Vajda, who expect their second child in September, and their 3-year-old daughter, Bette, returned to the United States in May. Sebes will continue to support the AAGW as its United States director.
