NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — An Indian woman trafficked to Pakistan more than two decades ago has returned to her family thanks to a YouTube video that reunited her with her relatives. Hamida Banu, 75, said she was tricked into traveling to Pakistan in 2002 under the false promise of a job in Dubai, leaving her stranded in the neighboring country for 22 years.

Banu, a widow supporting her four children at the time, was approached by a recruitment agent offering a cooking job in Dubai for a fee of 20,000 rupees ($250). Instead, she was taken to Hyderabad, Pakistan, where she was held captive for three months before marrying a street vendor in Karachi. Her husband, who died during the COVID-19 pandemic, “never troubled her,” Banu said.

Her story came to the fore again in July 2022 when Pakistani social media activist Waliullah Maroof interviewed Banu for his YouTube channel. The video caught the attention of Indian journalist Khalfan Shaikh, who shared the story on his platform. The video eventually reached Banu’s family in India when her grandson spotted it online.

In an emotional video call arranged by Maroof and Shaikh, Banu’s daughter, Yasmin, tearfully asked her mother, “Where were you all these years?” Banu replied, “Don’t ask me where I was, and how I have been. I missed you all so much. I didn’t stay here willingly, I had no other choice.”

Extensive checks by the Indian and Pakistani governments confirmed Banu’s identity before her Indian nationality was confirmed in October. On Monday, Banu crossed back into India at a land border, finally reunited with her children and siblings after more than two decades.

I endured the separation for 23 years,” Banu said as she crossed the border. She described herself as a “living corpse” when she was in Pakistan as she could not communicate with her family.

Returning back to India, Banu spoke to BBC Punjabi. “I have brothers, sisters, and children in India, but I don’t want to be a burden on anyone,” she said.

Her story highlights the problem of ongoing human trafficking issues in South Asia, in which most vulnerable individuals fall victim to false job offers. However, in spite of this complex and sometimes tense relationship between India and Pakistan, cooperation in the case of Banu underlines the possibility of solving an individual humanitarian case through diplomatic channels.