From Loss to Survival: A Story of Being Seen

I came to the Netherlands after my mum died suddenly. I was only 18 years old, grieving and trying to find stability in a new country. Instead, I was trafficked, and not long after that, I became homeless.

Everything in my life changed very quickly. I had no home, no support system, and nowhere to go.

For four months, I lived on the streets. I slept in parks and playgrounds. Because it was summer, it was manageable. I was able to find food most days. There were places where I could eat, and sometimes I even received warm meals.

In some ways, the physical part of surviving on the streets was not the hardest thing. I wasn’t afraid. I knew the Netherlands was a safe country.

What affected me the most was the feeling of being invisible.

“I was invisible.”

People passed by me every day, but it felt as if they didn’t see me at all. Sometimes even making eye contact felt impossible.

“I used to wish someone would look at me so I could tell myself I wasn’t going crazy.”

When no one acknowledged me, the silence became overwhelming.

“I started talking to myself just to make sure I was still alive.”

Being homeless was not only about sleeping outside. It was about feeling unseen in a world full of people.

That experience changed the way I see the world. Sometimes the hardest part of homelessness is not the cold or the hunger, it is the feeling of not existing in the eyes of others.

Everyone deserves to be seen. Sometimes a simple look, a moment of acknowledgment, can remind someone that they are still human.