Last week, the West African Regional Courts passed a landmark judgement that may potentially enable those trafficked and enslaved in West Africa to receive better protection against slavery, and receive compensation from their governments. The government of Niger has been ordered to pay Hadijatou Mani 10m CFA francs (USD 20,000) as compensation for failing to protect her against slavery. This judgement may open the way for other slaves to demand compensation and protection from their governments.

Hadijatou Mani’s story is not an unusual one. She was sold by her Berber family to a Hausa master for a sum of about USD 500. Her master forced Hadijatou Mani to work long and gruelling days. She collected firewood, cooked, fetched water and worked on the farm. Hadijatou Mani was forced to bear her master’s children and was beaten many times. When Hadijatou Mani ran to her family for help they returned her to her master a few days later.

Hadijatou Mani’s quest for justice began after she discovered that the government of Niger had banned slavery. However, in many parts of West Africa – and especially rural areas – due to poor communication and access to education, many slaves do not even know that slavery has been outlawed by their governments. Anti-Slavery International, the organisation that helped Hadijatou Mani, has helped free 80 women in Niger over the last five years. They suggest up to 8% of the population in Niger is enslaved, and up to 18% in neighbouring Mauritania may be enslaved. The governments of Niger and Mauritania strongly dispute these figures. STOP THE TRAFFIK hopes that this judgement may provide hope and opportunity for other women in Hadijatou mani’s position.

On 24 November 2008, STOP THE TRAFFIK is pleased to announce the opening of the ‘We The Peoples’ Film Festival, taking place at selected venues around London.

The festival will be promoting the work of the United Nations, and other international development agencies, focussing on the three pillars of freedom: freedom from want, freedom from fear, and freedom to live in dignity.

Victims of human trafficking are sometimes deprived of all three of these freedoms. In particular, two films that will be screened during the festival will explore the deprivation of freedom undergone by victims of human trafficking. The House of Sharing, from Hein Seok tells the story of Korean women sold into slavery by the Japanese army during the Second World War; and Kidnapped Childhood, by Claes Herrlander discusses the plight of children running from kidnappers in Uganda.

Come along to the ‘We The Peoples’ Film Festival to raise awareness about international human rights, and celebrate your freedom!

Are you going to be in central London on Sunday 16 November?

Join hundreds of Londoners in THE FREEZE PROJECT! This is a fun, non-intrusive way for you as a member of the public to draw attention to the really important issues of human trafficking and slavery, and help people get informed by handing out flyers afterwards.

So how can you participate?

• Show up at the right place at the right time
• You will be directed to the ‘Freeze Space’ and blend into the crowdAt the cue, stop what you’re doing and stay frozen for the next 5 minutes until the next cue tells you the freeze is over
• Afterwards, hand out some print material to those nearby or who were watching you

Where will this FREEZE PROJECT happen?

Location: London Eye (corner of Jubilee Garden on the side of Belevedere St. There will be FREEZE PROJECT signs)

Time: 2pm for a 2.30pm freeze

Contact: duggyhj@gmail.com (Stephen – Co-ordinator)

See you there!

Take a Stand at The Stand

Last week STOP THE TRAFFIK advertised a great event - The Stand - that will be taking place at the NEC Stadium in Birmingham THIS WEEKEND. Today, STOP THE TRAFFIK has interviewed Ben Cooley, the inspirational organiser behind the whole event. Read on to hear about his motivation, his hope for the future, and his vision for people all over the world who are concerned about human trafficking.

How long have you been involved with Hope for Justice and how did you first decide to take a stand against human trafficking?

Hope for justice was really born out of my friendship with a couple called Rob and Marion White, and their involvement on the STOP THE TRAFFIK tour a couple of years ago… I heard stories and statistics during that period of time that just never left me, and I knew I had to get involved with doing something about it.

What do you hope The Stand will achieve?

Many things…We hope that countless people will be impacted in such a way that they cannot help but get involved, we want to see people inspired to change how they live their lives, maybe even deciding to train or re-train in some area so they can use their skills in law, psychology, investigation, social work… We want to see people rescued from the terrible situations they are in! We are handing out a Resource Pack to every delegate to help facilitate this, and this outlines lots more ways to get involved.

What is your vision for people who want to help eradicate human trafficking?

That they are empowered and equipped to make a difference! That they are able to get involved at whatever level they are able, Helen Keller said a great thing…she said ” Because I cannot do everything, I refuse not to do the something that I can do”. Everyone can do something!

STOP THE TRAFFIK wants to give special thanks to The Salvation Army, a partner collaboration and member of the STOP THE TRAFFIK coalition for producing their very moving short video about women who have been victims of trafficking in the sex industry in Sri Lanka.

Tell us what you think about this video and what you think about the story it tells. We’re waiting to hear from you!

In the UK and got no plans for 8th November?  Come to Birmingham NEC Stadium and join Hope for Justice, an inspirational Christian organisation, and make a stand against human trafficking.

The Stand will present an amazing line up of bands and speakers: Delirious, Bluetree, Thebandwithnoname will be getting the crowd up and dancing, and Joseph d’Souza, Baroness Cox and Stephen Chalke will be
speaking. And that’s just a taster of what we’ve got!

This is an opportunity for YOU to make a stand and say NO to slavery!

Book your ticket and find out more details at http://www.hopeforjustice.org.uk/thestand/

See you there!

STOP THE TRAFFIK wants to feature the touching words of a woman who was inspired by the life and story of a young girl, Svetlana, who was a victim of human trafficking. This poem has been selected from a series of works and empathises in a striking way with the trauma and horror that the victims of trafficking suffer. Please leave your comments below to let us know how this poem has moved you.

I feel a heavy hand upon my shoulder

As the elevator door closes

Instinctively I know that I am the prey

From dominance into submission

Is the downtrodden path I walk every day.

A black veil we call it, is pressing upon my heart

Christians claim to love their brethren, yet we are worlds apart

Images flash through my mind

As a camera fixed in slow shudder speed

I become an embarrassment, much like excrement under your shoe

Full of gut wrenching fear with no want or need.

We are kept prisoner in the underbelly of society

From those who scorn or detest us, those we could defile

Hidden from their sight and memory

Abhorred much like an illegitimate child

 I must swallow the bile as it rises up in my throat

Ever hopeful that one man, just one

May find his conscience, be it ever so remote

Push away those bitter tears

Keep a stoic face to quell my fears

The sweet stench of money, as sinister as it may sound

Imagine that, to barter with my virginity

I must negotiate to reach a common ground

To be heard, to be loved is a foreign concept

I must attend to the gash on my lip before it becomes a whelp

For if there was no demand—

That translates to demons of man

There would be no need for supply

My youth would not be stripped away

You see, I would not have to die.

At night before slumber comes and I retreat,

I often think, “Where is God, why doesn’t He speak?”

Is winter closing in on you already? Want to find out the fastest way to chase away the winter blues? For all you speed demons out there, who love the feeling of wind on your face and wilderness out the window, for any of you curious to capture the spirit of the Arctic wild, visit www.snowdodgers.co.uk and find out about what could be the ride of your life. 

Snowdodgers is a hair-raising rally that will take you north into the Arctic before turning south through the Hungarian plains to Moldova. The rally will take place between 11 April 2009 and 1 May 2009, so there’s plenty of time to plan ahead, and you’ll be raring to go before you know it.

Check out the proposed route:

 It’s easy to sign up and an excellent way to raise funds and awareness about human trafficking in Moldova. Let Snowdodgers know how you want to get involved!

STOP THE TRAFFIK is getting excited about the International People’s Lecture, coming up on 27 November 2008. The event will gather a wide range of people who have been touched by and support STOP THE TRAFFIK, who will hear about human trafficking and be equipped to be able to do something about it.

We are especially pleased that our speakers on the night will be Cherie Booth QC, a pre-eminent human rights lawyer, Steve Chalke MBE, the founder of STOP THE TRAFFIK, and Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

This evening promises to be informative and enjoyable.  For those of you not able to join us we’re working on having it as a podcast available for you to listen to wherever you are around the world and in the comfort of your own home. Please join us!

How is your party planning going for the World’s largest chocolate fondue party? It’s coming up in the last week of November – a great way to kick off the festive season and get people together.

To help you have the best party possible, this week STOP THE TRAFFIK have been experimenting with the tastiest foods to dip into your chocolate fondue. So, if you’ve been feeling stuck for options, then read on…

OLD FAVES

We enjoyed tucking into the classic chocolate fondue dippers: fruit like strawberries, raspberries and blackberries taste great with chocolate. They’re easy to dip and you can eat them in one bite! We’ve tried other fruit too: bananas, apples, and grapes all taste great dipped in chocolate.

Marshmallows, doughnuts, and shortbread were also popular choices, but beware! Shortbread crumbles easily in the chocolate.

SUPRISINGLY TASTY

For those with more adventurous taste buds, try mozzarella in your chocolate. It may not sound delicious, but it is! Carrots were unexpectedly good too. But we will forgive you if you don’t believe us.

FORGET ABOUT

Broccoli, celery and cucumber. Spurred on by our unexpected success with the carrot-chocolate combination STOP THE TRAFFIK tried other vegetables. But our advice to you is: leave them out!!!