MIAMI (CBSMiami) – From sufferer to advocate, Somy Ali confronts home violence and human trafficking each single day together with her volunteer group, merely referred to as ‘No More Tears’.
They see themselves because the ‘second responders’ who help victims in placing their lives again collectively once more.
“Sixty percent of the victims that we help are Hispanic in background. They don’t know where they are. They’re afraid of being deported, they have no money, they don’t have a job, they have no paperwork,” Ali mentioned. “Actually, there are so many reasons, and not only that, the abusers have guns. They threaten to shoot you if you decide to leave or call the cops. So, fear is a very significant and pivotal factor and an element in why victims don’t leave.”
Ali based the non-profit group ‘No More Tears,’ which gives emergency shelter, authorized help, an advocate within the courts, and way more.
“Referrals come from police departments, national human trafficking hotline, and hospitals,” Ali mentioned. “With the pandemic we’ve housed 192 victims since March 2020.”
She is aware of all their tales.
“One victim was rescued on July 15, 2020, with a SWAT team, with 14 police officers,” Ali defined.
This resident of Broward now has a secure place together with her son and is in vocational college as effectively. She has made a good friend via the ‘No More Tears’ community, one other survivor, who drives her to and from college.
Her state of affairs is one which Ali connects with personally.
“I know a lot. I know what it’s like because I’ve been there, and I’ve seen my mom abused. I grew up in it,” Ali recalled.
Ali is not only a witness, however a sufferer in three harrowing situations. She mentioned she was abused by employees within the residence as a younger little one in Pakistan, after which raped at age 14 in Miami, after which as a lovestruck teen in India’s Bollywood. She mentioned her actor boyfriend grew to become her abuser.
“It started with verbal abuse and it escalated to sexual and physical abuse and it lasted for eight years, it was very very difficult. I was trying to protect myself, tried to fight back. I waited for him to change; every survivor goes through that. I didn’t have anything to come back to America, so I stuck around. I just had dropped out of ninth grade, I had no education, so I was hoping that he would change and waiting and waiting which is very common for domestic violence survivors.”
She returned to Miami at age 24 and began her group in 2006, understanding it was her calling.
She mentioned the work is rewarding and has earned her nationwide recognition, together with President George H.W. Bush’s Points of Light Award. The work can also be sobering and harmful.
“Seven years ago, I had a gun held to my head in Plantation. I don’t know whether it was a trafficker or an abuser, from what he said ‘Stay away (expletive) or next time I will blow your head off’,” Ali mentioned.
She moved to a safer place, however she did not stop, as a result of she’s not accomplished.
“I haven’t woken up one day, not one single day, where I feel like I don’t want to do this. This is my life, this is my passion, this is my purpose. This is the reason for my existence and I’ve suffered a lot; I’ve been through horrible, horrible abuse and this is the only thing that makes me happy Nothing else makes me happy.”
‘No More Tears’ is funded by donations, to study extra in regards to the group, home violence, and human trafficking please go to these sources:
https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking
https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/domestic-violence/
The ‘No More Tears’ sufferer disaster line is: (954) 324-7669