Datsa Gaile could easily have felt very negative about her life in Britain.
Arriving in London late at night, with very little English, Datsa and her friend found themselves abandoned.
Frantic telephone calls to the agent in Latvia who had arranged the work produced results, and someone did come to meet them, only to put them on a train to Northampton. By the time they arrived there it was very late, very dark, and once again they were alone.
Datsa said: “It was the first time away from home for my friend and she was crying. After half an hour some man came who looked dodgy. We had heard stories of girls coming to England and having their passports taken away.”
Their frightening experience didn’t end there, with the girls shuffled back to London, on to Brighton and then Tunbridge, each person in the chain expecting more money from them.
By this time four months had elapsed and Datsa had worked hard to improve her English. She realised their best chance was to “run away” and find work for themselves, back in Northampton.
First came a job as Russian-speaking cashier for a phone shop, and Datsa says: “That’s when I could say I have a normal job and life.”
Life improved, and Datsa was able to study part-time for a degree in business studies, graduating in 2011.
She continued working part-time, getting better jobs as her English improved, and also starting the Anglo-Baltic News website. In Latvia, Datsa had gained a Diploma in Law, and she ended up opening the Latvian department for a solicitor’s office in Birmingham.
Not content with that, she decided to launch a newspaper for the UK Latvian community, alongside her website, before realising it was too costly.
She says: “I wanted to do something positive. There are 64million people in the UK and I am focusing on 100,000 Latvians so I need to change something.”
That’s just what she did, launching an internet magazine for women – For Any Woman – from her new home in Spalding, with the help of an international team.
She’s on the ninth issue and says: “I realised the best thing would be to do something for women of all nationalities, for positive, inspiring, successful women living in the UK.
“Each one is getting better as content improves and if I can create enough money from advertisers I will start to print.”
Visit foranywoman.com