Djanaya Hampton wanted to celebrate her 29th birthday by watching the lights of the Eiffel Tower. It was May 2025, and she was traveling alone from Perth, so she decided to have a picnic in the park while waiting for nightfall.
At around 20:00, two young men sat down beside her. One smiled at her and asked who she was traveling with, where she was staying, and whether she had a boyfriend. She said a friend was waiting for her at the hotel, but he insisted they go to a party. Although he was handsome, she didn’t know him and, even worse, his persistence and very personal questions reminded her of the 2008 movie Taken, in which two young women are kidnapped in Paris by a human trafficking ring after a seemingly friendly stranger gets information about where they are staying.
When she stood up, the man grabbed her to take a photo. While his friend snapped a picture with his phone, Djanaya covered her face, but it was already too late. She watched as they approached a vendor with some money and began pointing at her.
“My heart sank”
She called her best friend, who guided her over the phone and waited for 40 minutes at a restaurant; then she boarded the train, believing she was safe, but suddenly the two men got into the carriage, along with five more men and two women. One voice said: “Yes, she’s here”.
Djanaya knew her life was in danger, so she decided to get off at the Notre Dame station, which was packed. When everyone followed her, Djanaya got back on the train. And although she managed to lose some of them, others caught up with her and surrounded her.
Djanaya burst into tears. She was sure she wouldn’t make it to her birthday.
That’s when a passenger doubled back. He asked if she was okay, and her friend, who was still on the phone, explained what was happening. According to the account, he was a security guard, so he put his jacket around her, hugged her, and asked her to stay close to him. He then escorted her to an Uber.
The next day, the Australian Embassy booked her flight home and told her she had done the right thing by not notifying the police, since they are sometimes associated with these criminal groups and she could already be on the blacklist—that is, there was already a price on her head. The young woman made it out alive, but today she says she won’t let fear stop her from traveling.