Biography:
Iana Matei is a Romanian activist and founder of Reaching Out Romania, an organization dedicated to locating and rehabilitating victims of forced prostitution and sex trafficking. Born in Orăștie, Romania, Matei’s upbringing was marked by her parents’ involvement in sports – her mother was a pentathlete and her father a football coach. When Matei was three, her family relocated to Bucharest and later to the industrial city of Pitești.
Matei’s life took a dramatic turn when she met her husband Dmitri while restoring the Ghica Tei palace. Despite their initial happiness, their relationship became strained due to domestic violence, abuse, and alcoholism. Eventually, Matei made the difficult decision to divorce Dmitri, seeking a brighter future for herself and her son.
In 1989, at the dawn of the Romanian Revolution, Matei actively participated in protests against the Communist government. During one demonstration in University Square, she lost her bag, which contained her identification documents. Feeling unsafe and hunted, Matei chose to flee the country, leaving her son in the care of her mother. She embarked on an illegal immigration to Serbia, where she was captured and sentenced to twenty days of imprisonment. Undeterred, Matei initiated a hunger strike, demanding a visit from a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to acknowledge her presence. After completing her sentence, she was relocated to a Serbian refugee camp, where she worked as a translator for UNHCR.
Matei’s unwavering determination and resilience led to her eventual reunion with her son, and the two relocated to Australia, where they became involved in humanitarian work. In pursuit of a diploma in psychology, she worked with homeless children, acquiring firsthand experience in the challenges they faced. It was during this time that Matei’s path intersected with the issue of sex trafficking when she was asked by the police to bring clothes to arrested prostitutes. Shockingly, she discovered that all these girls were underage and victims of human trafficking. Despite her efforts to convince the police of their situation, they refused to acknowledge the truth.
Motivated by this encounter, Matei founded the charity Reaching Out Romania to combat sex slavery. She established a shelter called The House of Treasure to provide a safe haven for victims and actively worked towards ending the exploitation of women. Matei’s tireless efforts have brought attention to the pervasive issue of sex trafficking and have helped numerous victims reclaim their lives and find hope for the future.
Awards:
– European of the Year by Reader’s Digest in 2010.