The BBC reports
A modern slavery survivor has told how he was forced to work unpaid in a restaurant for 14 hours a day after being trafficked into the UK.
Mominul Hamid from Bangladesh said he was duped into an arranged marriage with the promise of a “better life”.
However, once in the UK he was forced to work unpaid for his wife’s family.
He eventually escaped from his abusers and is training to be a lawyer thanks to the help of Sheffield-based City Hearts, an anti-trafficking charity.
Mr Hamid and his wife got married before they came to the UK and she moved over before him, where she gave birth to their son.
Mr Hamid, who now lives in Newcastle and is studying at Northumbria University, said there was a lot of physical abuse.
“I was only given food once a day and I wasn’t paid a single penny,” he said.
“The violence and the mental trauma was literally unbearable. I felt like I didn’t have a choice – I had to accept it.”
Whenever he threatened to leave, the asylum seeker said he was told he would never see his son again.
He is now divorced and regularly sees his child with help from City Hearts.
The charity said it was currently supporting 700 survivors of modern slavery and trafficking in safe houses and communities all over the UK.
Mr Hamid said: “Like anyone, I hoped for a decent family life.
“But before I could move to the UK, my wife stopped contacting me and her parents threatened to cancel the visa documents.”
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