Last week I went to an event called "Stop The Traffik: People Shouldn’t Be bought and Sold." It was an event with the aim of increasing awareness about the growing trade in Human Trafficking and it shocked, angered and motivated me into finding out and doing more. March 25th 2007 marks 200 years since the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, a movement championed by William Wilberforce. The sad fact is that there are more people in slavery today than there were 200 years ago. Stop The Traffik is a global coalition of over 300 organisations (includung businesses, faith groups, community groups and charities) who are calling for change and freeedom for those trapped in forced labour.
Trafficking affects every continent and most countries. Due to the hidden and illegal nature of human trafficking, gathering statistics on the scale of the problem is a complex and difficult task. There are no reliable national or international estimates as to the extent of trafficking, but the most credible are as follows;
AT LEAST 12.3 MILLION PEOPLE ARE VICTIMS OF FORCED LABOUR WORLDWIDE. OF THESE 2.4 MILLION ARE AS A RESULT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. A global alliance against forced labor, International Labour Organisation, 2005
600,000-800,000 MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN TRAFFICKED ACROSS INTERNATIONAL BORDERS EACH YEAR. APPROXIMATELY 80 PER CENT ARE WOMEN AND GIRLS. UP TO 50% ARE MINORS. US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2005
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS THE THIRD LARGEST SOURCE OF INCOME FOR ORGANISED CRIME, EXCEEDED ONLY BY ARMS AND DRUGS TRAFFICKING. IT IS THE FASTEST GROWING FORM OF INTERNATIONAL CRIME, ALREADY GENERATING 7 BILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDS. THERE ARE EVEN REPORTS THAT SOME TRAFFICKING GROUPS ARE SWITCHING THEIR CARGO FROM DRUGS TO HUMAN BEINGS, IN A SEARCH OF HIGH PROFITS AT LOWER RISK. UN office on drugs and crime
Shocking statistics indeed. And this isn’t just happening in Africa and India on the other side of the world, it is also happening here and now in our own country. One of the individual stories I heard was about a Lithuanian girl. 3 years ago, aged just 14 her parents were approached by as couple. The man & women told her parents that they could find their daughter work in England selling ice-cream over the summer – she would be able to learn English and send money home. After some discussion, the girl’s parents agreed, signed a contract and were paid $4. Four Dollars. That’s about the price of a Big Mac. The couple took the girl, flew to Gatwick Airport, where they sold her on for $4,000. She was taken to a hotel in London and raped. Over the next 2 years she was trapped in a cycle of being moved from city to city, to brothel to brothel. London, Birmingham, back to London, then to Sheffield. Unable to speak English, and unable to escape, she was eventually discovered in Sheffield in a raid by the UK Human Trafficking Centre in 2006 and rescued. This is a sickening, and ever-growing problem, and must be stopped.
So what can we do? Firstly, you can visit www.stopthetraffik.org and sign the Global Declaration and add your voice. You can sign up there to find more information to get involved and you can contact your local MP.
Sadly, it is often the world’s poorest communities who suffer most – poverty and the threat of human trafficking are undeniably linked – buying more fair-trade products ensures that people are getting a fair wage for their produce and are not being used as forced labour. You can choose to only buy chocolate that is guaranteed to be 'Traffik Free' this includes Divine, Green & Black Maya Gold.
And keep suppoting the aims of Make Poverty History
Please put March 25th 2007 in your diary – this is Freedom Day. Not just a celebration of history, but a moment to be inspired by the champions of history of the past to help fight for freedom from the bondage of slavery through people trafficking.
Thanks for reading. Chloe.
IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT DATES
06.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Roundhouse in London in aid of War Child
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07.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Roundhouse in London in aid of War Child
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09.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Coronet in London in aid of War Child
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15.12.06 Hanukkah!
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23.12.06 Christmas Eve's Eve
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24.12.06 Christmas Eve
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26.12.06 Boxing Day
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31.12.06 New Years' Eve
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01.01.07 New Years' Day
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Bloody Ages Away: Feeder to release their 6th Studio Album
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06.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Roundhouse in London in aid of War Child
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07.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Roundhouse in London in aid of War Child
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09.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Coronet in London in aid of War Child
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15.12.06 Hanukkah!
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23.12.06 Christmas Eve's Eve
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24.12.06 Christmas Eve
-------------------------------------25.12.06 Christmas Day
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26.12.06 Boxing Day
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31.12.06 New Years' Eve
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01.01.07 New Years' Day
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Bloody Ages Away: Feeder to release their 6th Studio Album
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IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT DATES
06.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Roundhouse in London in aid of War Child
-------------------------------------
07.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Roundhouse in London in aid of War Child
-------------------------------------
09.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Coronet in London in aid of War Child
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15.12.06 Hanukkah!
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23.12.06 Christmas Eve's Eve
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24.12.06 Christmas Eve
-------------------------------------25.12.06 Christmas Day
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26.12.06 Boxing Day
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31.12.06 New Years' Eve
-------------------------------------
01.01.07 New Years' Day
-------------------------------------
Bloody Ages Away: Feeder to release their 6th Studio Album
-------------------------------------
06.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Roundhouse in London in aid of War Child
-------------------------------------
07.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Roundhouse in London in aid of War Child
-------------------------------------
09.11.06 Feeder to perform at the Coronet in London in aid of War Child
-------------------------------------
15.12.06 Hanukkah!
-------------------------------------
23.12.06 Christmas Eve's Eve
-------------------------------------
24.12.06 Christmas Eve
-------------------------------------25.12.06 Christmas Day
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26.12.06 Boxing Day
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31.12.06 New Years' Eve
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01.01.07 New Years' Day
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Bloody Ages Away: Feeder to release their 6th Studio Album
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This week’s video : Grant sings Dove Grey Sands in his pink shoes.
...What? We didn't say anything.
2009 Tour Dates
Student Shows
05.06.09 Hertfordshire
06.06.09 Hull
10.06.09 Swansea
13.06.09 Reading
18.06.09 Nottingham Trent
25.06.09 Warwick
Festivals
01.08.09 Hevy Music Festival, Folkestone
02.08.09 Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth
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