Polish Girl Signed Surrogacy Contract in Dubai – Turned Into Pregnancy Slave in Desert Clinic | HO

In July, the agency sent her a plane ticket and the main contract, 28 pages in English.

Karolina hired a translator and asked him to explain all the clauses.

Most of them seemed standard.

Obligations to carry and give birth to a healthy child, comply with medical prescriptions, refrain from alcohol and drugs, and visit the doctor regularly.

There was a clause about penalties for violating the regime, a clause about the client’s right to receive the child immediately after birth and a clause about confidentiality.

The interpreter pointed out several points that he found strange.

The contract stated that Carolina would give the agency full access to her medical records and agree to any necessary medical procedures determined by the clinic’s doctors.

Another clause stated that in the event of complications, the agency would not be liable for the consequences.

The translator said that such wording is common in medical documents, but it would be better to consult a lawyer.

Karolina consulted a lawyer.

The lawyer said that the contract looked standard for international surrogacy, although some clauses were vaguely worded.

He advised her to ask the agency for clarification.

Carolina wrote to the representative.

The reply came 2 days later.

All the clauses were standard.

The clinic was internationally accredited and the contract complied with UAE law.

There was nothing to worry about.

She signed it.

On July 23rd, she flew to Dubai.

At the airport, she was met by a driver with a sign who took her to a clinic on the outskirts of the city.

The building was modern glass with the medical c center’s logo on the facade.

Inside there was marble, air conditioning, and uniformed administrators.

Karolina was shown into the doctor’s office.

Dr.

Hassan introduced himself as the chief specialist in reproductive technology.

He explained the procedure.

First, a complete examination, then preparation of the body with hormonal drugs, then embryo implantation.

The whole process would take several weeks.

Carolina would live in a special residential building attached to the clinic where everything she needed was available.

After successful implantation, she would be transferred to an apartment in the city.

The examination took 3 days.

Blood tests, ultrasounds, examinations by various specialists.

Everything was professional.

No red flags.

On the fourth day, Carolina was moved to the residential building.

The room was small, a bed, a table, a wardrobe, and a private bathroom.

The window overlooked the courtyard.

The setting was more like a dormatory than a hotel, but it was quite acceptable.

The hormone injections began.

Every morning, a nurse came, gave her an injection, and checked her blood pressure and temperature.

Carolina felt fine except for a little nausea.

She asked when she would be transferred to the city.

The nurse replied that after the implantation, she would have to wait.

2 weeks later, the embryo transfer procedure was performed.

Karolina signed the consent form and was taken to the operating room.

Everything went quickly under local anesthesia.

After the procedure, she spent the day in the ward under observation, then returned to her room.

The doctor said that now she had to wait 2 weeks to confirm the pregnancy.

The wait was nerve-wracking.

Karolina hardly left her room.

They brought her books and a tablet with internet access.

She contacted her mother via messenger and told her that everything was going well.

Her mother asked when she would be coming home.

Karolina replied that in about 9 months as planned.

Two weeks later, the test confirmed the pregnancy.

Dr.

After Hassan congratulated her and said that everything was going well.

Now the observation period would begin.

Karolina asked about moving into the apartment.

The doctor replied that in the coming weeks they needed to make sure that the pregnancy was developing steadily.

Weeks passed but the move did not happen.

Karolina began to worry.

She asked the nurses when she would be discharged.

The answers were evasive.

Soon the doctor decides we need to wait for the test results.

She tried to leave the building, but the doors on the first floor were locked with electronic locks.

The security guard politely explained that this was for the safety of the patients and that they could only leave with a pass.

In the sixth week of her pregnancy, Karolina was summoned to Dr.

Hassan’s office.

With him was another man who introduced himself as Mr.

Al- Maktum, the AY’s lawyer.

They asked her to sit down and placed some documents in front of her.

Dr Hassan explained that when she signed the contract, there were some agenda that she might not have read in full.

He spoke calmly and methodically.

In particular, addendum number three, which she had signed along with the main contract.

Carolina did not remember any addendum number three.

She asked to see it.

Mr Al-Maktum handed her a folder.

Inside were pages in English with her signature and the date at the bottom.

July 2017.

Carolina began to read.

The text was legal ease complicated, but the gist was clear.

She agreed to participate in an extended surrogacy program which involved carrying at least 10 pregnancies over a period not exceeding 15 years.

She read it twice.

10 pregnancies.

15 years.

It was impossible.

She had signed a contract for one pregnancy, 9 months.

She said this out loud.

Mr Al-Maktum replied that her signature was at the bottom of each page and that everything was completely legal.

Carolina tried to object.

She said she had been deceived, that she didn’t understand what she was signing, that she wanted to terminate the contract and return home.

After DrHassan shook his head, he explained that according to UAE law and the terms of the contract, she could no longer unilaterally terminate the agreement.

The pregnancy had begun.

The embryo had been implanted.

Termination of the pregnancy was prohibited without medical indications, and after giving birth, preparations for the next pregnancy would begin.

She asked what would happen if she refused.

Mr DrAl-Maktum replied that in that case the agency would be forced to apply penalties in accordance with the contract.

The amount was $2 million plus all medical expenses.

Criminal prosecution for fraud and breach of contract is also possible in the UAE where the punishment for this can be severe.

Karolina sat in shock.

$2 million, a criminal case.

She didn’t understand how this had happened.

She asked for a lawyer and wanted to contact the Polish consulate.

Mr Al-Maktum said that she had the right to a lawyer, but first recommended that she carefully review all the documents she had signed.

The consulate would be informed that she was here of her own free will, participating in a legal medical program.

That evening, Karolina tried to contact her mother, but the internet on her tablet stopped working.

She asked the nurse for a phone, but the nurse said it was not possible at the moment as the doctor had forbidden her to get upset as it was harmful to her pregnancy.

Karolina started screaming, demanding to be put in touch with the outside world.

Security arrived and the nurse gave her a sedative injection.

She fell asleep.

When she woke up, she had been moved to another room.

It was not a room, but rather a ward, a metal bed, a bedside table, a toilet, and a sink in the corner.

There were no windows.

The door was locked from the outside.

The walls were painted white, and the lighting consisted of cold fluorescent lamps.

Thus began Carolina Voychic’s confinement.

She spent her first pregnancy in this ward.

The regime was strict.

wake up at 7:00 in the morning, breakfast at 8, medical examination at 9:00.

Meals were served three times a day.

The diet was prescribed by doctors, and the portions were small.

No snacks, no special requests.

Once a week, she had an ultrasound, and once a month, an extended examination.

Karolina tried to protest, refused to eat, and demanded to meet with consulate representatives.

The staff ignored her demands.

When she refused to eat, they put her on IV drips with nutrient solutions.

When she screamed, they gave her sedatives.

After a few weeks, she realized that resistance was futile.

The only thing she could control was her mental state.

The pregnancy proceeded normally.

Dr Hassan conducted regular examinations, monitored the development of the fetus, and adjusted vitamins and supplements.

He treated her not as a person, but as a patient, a carrier.

He asked questions only about her well-being and symptoms.

No personal conversations.

At 38 weeks, Karolina went into labor.

She was taken to the maternity ward which was located in the same complex.

The birth was natural without complications.

The baby was a girl, healthy, weighing 3 kg, 200 g.

Carolina saw her for a few seconds.

Then the newborn was taken away.

She never saw her again.

After the birth, she was given two days to recover.

On the third day, Dr.

Hassan came, examined her, and said that everything was fine.

The uterus was contracting normally.

In 2 weeks, preparations for the next pregnancy would begin.

Karolina just remained silent.

She no longer had the strength to argue.

Preparations began 3 weeks later.

Again, hormone injections, again, tests again, waiting for ovulation.

A month later, the second implantation was performed.

The pregnancy was confirmed.

The cycle repeated itself.

The second pregnancy was more difficult.

Carolina gained weight, developed edema, and her blood pressure rose.

The doctors adjusted her treatment and added medications.

The delivery was more complicated and required an epziottomy.

The baby was a boy and was taken away immediately.

After the second birth, Karolina tried to figure out where she was.

From the staff’s conversations, she realized that the clinic was located somewhere in the desert, far from the city.

Apparently, it was an isolated medical complex where women were brought for similar programs.

She was not the only one.

Sometimes she heard the voices of other women in the hallway and the cries of babies.

She tried to talk to the nurse to ask how many others like her were there.

The nurse, a Filipino woman in her 40s, did not answer right away.

Then she quietly said that she was not allowed to talk to patients about personal matters.

But Karolina saw sympathy in her eyes.

That gave her hope.

Her third pregnancy began 4 weeks after her second delivery.

Carolina’s body protested.

Her hormonal balance was disrupted and she developed problems with her cycle.

The doctors increased the doses of medication.

The implantation was successful, but the pregnancy was accompanied by toxicosis, constant nausea, and weakness.

By this point, almost 2 years had passed since her arrival in Dubai.

Karolina lost track of time.

The days merged into one gray mass.

examinations, injections, tests, ultrasounds, childbirth, a short break, and then preparation again.

Her body had turned into a machine for carrying children.

The doctors only made sure that she did not die and could continue to give birth.

During her third pregnancy, she asked Dr.

Hassan who the children were given to.

He replied that it was none of her business.

The children were given to families according to contracts.

Each pregnancy was paid for separately.

The money was accumulated in her account and she would receive it after fulfilling all her obligations.

Karolina did not believe him.

She understood that she would never see the money.

After her third delivery, her physical condition deteriorated.

She developed vein problems, varicose veins, back pain, and hormonal imbalances.

The doctors provided supportive care, but nothing more.

the minimum necessary to continue the program.

During her fourth pregnancy, she had a miscarriage at 12 weeks.

Carolina was taken for a DNC, which was a painful procedure.

Dr Hassan was unhappy, saying that it reduced the effectiveness of the program.

She was given 3 weeks to recover.

Then the preparation began again.

The fourth successful pregnancy ended in premature birth at 36 weeks.

The baby was small but survived.

After giving birth, Carolina was transferred back to the ward.

She had stretch marks all over her stomach.

Her breasts sagged and her hair began to fall out.

She was 26 years old, but she looked 40.

Somewhere between her fifth and sixth pregnancies, she tried to kill herself.

She saved up the sleeping pills she was given and took them all at once.

She was found unconscious in the morning, pumped out, and put on an IV.

After that, her medication was strictly controlled, and she was forced to swallow it in front of a nurse.

Psychologically, Karolina was on the verge of collapse.

There were days when she just lay there staring at the ceiling, unresponsive.

There were days when she cried for hours.

The staff paid no attention.

The only thing that mattered was her ability to carry her next child to term.

During her sixth pregnancy, something happened that changed her situation a little.

A new intern, a young doctor named Ahmed, arrived at the clinic.

He was about 30 years old and looked different from the rest of the staff.

There was less indifference in his eyes.

During one of the examinations, he lingered and asked her how she was feeling, not formally, but in a human way.

Carolina cautiously tried to find out if he knew what was going on in this clinic.

Akmed replied evasively, saying that he was new here doing his internship.

She asked if he could help.

He looked at her for a long time, then shook his head, and left.

Over the next few weeks, he showed up regularly, conducted examinations, and took tests.

Karolina didn’t bring up the subject of help, afraid that he would be replaced.

But one day, when no one else was in the ward, Akmed said quietly that he understood her situation.

He said there were several others like her here.

Women from different countries brought here under various pretexts, held against their will.

She asked why he didn’t go to the police.

Akmed explained that the clinic had powerful connections.

The owners were linked to influential people.

The paperwork was flawless and all the contracts were legally valid.

The police would not investigate.

Moreover, if he tried to do something, he would simply be fired or worse.

Karolina asked him to pass on a message to her mother, at least to let her know that she was alive.

Akmed said it was dangerous, but he would think about it.

A week later, he came back and said he had tried to find information about her.

It turned out that Karolina was officially dead.

The clinic’s database contained documents, a death certificate dated a year earlier.

The cause of death was complications during childbirth, throbo embolism.

The body was allegedly cremated and the ashes sent to the family.

Karolina didn’t believe it at first.

Then she realized that this explained why no one was looking for her.

Her mother had received the coffin with the ashes and buried her.

The Polish consulate closed the case.

Legally, she didn’t exist.

She was a ghost, a living corpse locked up in a clinic in the middle of the desert.

She asked Akmed if he could bring any evidence out.

photographs, CCTV recordings, a copy of the fake death certificate, something that would prove she was alive, that crimes were being committed here.

Ahmed hesitated.

He said it was very risky, but on his next visit, he brought a USB flash drive.

He said he had copied several files, recordings from the cameras in her room over the past month, scans of her real documents from the clinic’s database, a copy of the fake death certificate.

that might be enough to raise the issue.

Karolina asked what he was going to do.

Akmed replied that he knew a journalist in Dubai who was involved in investigations.

He would pass the materials on to him anonymously.

Then we would see what happened.

3 weeks passed.

Nothing changed.

Karolina continued to carry her sixth pregnancy.

The delivery was difficult with bleeding.

She was saved, but her uterus was damaged.

Dr Hassan said that this might be her last pregnancy and that she needed to be examined.

The examination showed that she could still carry children, but with an increased risk.

The clinic’s management decided to continue the program.

They began preparations for the seventh pregnancy.

Then, unexpectedly, the police arrived at the clinic.

It was a normal morning.

Carolina heard shouting, doors slamming, and footsteps in the hallway.

Then her door opened and two uniformed police officers and a woman in business suit.

The woman introduced herself as a representative of an international human rights organization.

She said that they had received information about the illegal detention of people in this clinic.

They conducted an inspection and found violations.

The clinic was closing and all patients held there against their will would be released.

Karolina cried.

She couldn’t believe it was real.

She was taken out of the ward, transported to a hospital in Dubai, and given a full medical examination.

Over time, it became clear that 11 women in similar situations were being held at the clinic.

They were from different countries.

The Philippines, Ukraine, Romania, Ethiopia.

All of them had been lured with promises of high earnings and were being held against their will.

The investigation revealed that the clinic was indeed connected to influential people, but the publication of the materials in the international press caused such a stir that the UAE authorities could not ignore it.

Dr Hassan, several employees, and the owner of the agency were arrested.

Mr Al-Maktum disappeared, probably leaving the country.

Karolina was returned to Poland.

Her mother was in shock.

She had actually buried her daughter a year ago, receiving ashes that, as it turned out later, were just ash.

The reunion was difficult, full of tears and mistrust.

Physically, Carolina was exhausted.

Seven pregnancies in 4 years had ruined her health.

Doctors in Poland said she would no longer be able to have children as her uterus was irreversibly damaged.

Psychologically, she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety.

She began working with a psychotherapist.

The trial of the clinic’s owners dragged on.

The UAE extradited several defendants, but some remained out of reach.

Compensation to the victims was symbolic, and most of the clinic’s assets were withdrawn or frozen.

Karolina’s story received widespread publicity.

Journalists wrote articles and made documentaries.

She gave interviews and talked about what she had been through.

She wanted people to know that this kind of thing could happen.

That contracts signed in desperation or trust could turn into a life sentence.

Ahmed, the intern who helped her, also testified.

He was fired from the clinic immediately after the information was leaked, but he had no regrets.

He said in an interview that he couldn’t remain silent when he saw what was happening to these women.

Now, several years later, Karolina lives in Kov.

She volunteers for an organization that helps victims of human trafficking.

She speaks at conferences, warning women about the dangers of dubious contracts abroad.

She is still undergoing therapy and still has nightmares.

She says that the main thing she has realized is that there are places and people in the world for whom a human being is not a person but a resource.

Biological material that can be exploited as long as it functions and that no amount of money is worth risking your freedom and your life.

The seven children she gave birth to now live in different families.

She does not know where they are, what their names are, or who is raising them.

Under UAE law and the terms of her contracts, she has no relationship with them.

Legally, she was never their mother.

She was only a surrogate.

This is what she has to live with every