It did not FALL: A tribute to David Hasselhof

Today is a special historical day. 20 years ago, by sheer miscommunication, the division between West and East Germany (DDR), and in many respects the conflict between Soviet and Capitalist / East and West began to grind to a halt.

If you read articles about the Berlin Wall, you would think that the 155 km, anti tank concrete wall around West Berlin toppled over, that it fell. Well, I am hear to tell you it DID NOT fall! In fact, the word ‘fall’ is so inaccurate a description of what happened I am going to set it straight once and for all!

Things began changing in 1985 when Gorbachev became powerful in the Soviet Union. By 1989, things had changed and people were leaving East Germany via Hungary and a complex train system from Czechoslovakia. The East German government needed to find a way to stop thousands of people taking well timed holidays to Hungary and Czechoslovakia and decided to grant permission for a few select people to cross into the West if it was a necessity and they had a passport. This new plan was set to start in a few days time.

A chap called Gunter Schabowski (new press person in the DDR) went on stage to give a live, global media conference about a change in government. Stuffed in his pocket was a note he was asked last minute to read out, live on TV. Now this bit of paper is key. On it was a message about the easing of travel to West Germany. Problem was that Gunter had no idea what he was talking about, he had no idea bout it starting in a few days and that you needed a passport. Adding to the nightmare, there was no relevant information on the paper.

The conference ended like this…

Gunter: I have one more announcement (gets paper out of his pocket)… people from the East will be … err….. (scratches head)… hmm…. able to travel into the West.

Press floor: Sharp intake of breath

Journalist: What do we need to cross the border?

Gunter: (looks at paper, finds no answer)… well, umm… I guess, and in my opinion, you don’t actually need anything to cross

press: (gasps of excitement) when does this new rocking plan start?

 Gunter: err… well…. hmmm…. I guess it starts… umm…. right now.

ROOM EMPTY. Everyone dashing to cross and see friends and family they have not seen for years.

At the Berlin Wall tens of thousands of people began accumilating at the crossing points (of which there were 14 with 7 running through the centre of the city). The border patrol men had no idea what to do, no idea what was going on and were totally overwhelmed. They had two options, kill everyone or let people cross. They didn’t have enough bullets to kill everyone, so they let people cross.

Once people had crossed they started attacking and making holes in the Berlin wall. It was then deconstructed, along with most Eastern Governments over the course of the following year. Germany was reunited a year later on 3 October 1990.

So, where is this amazing story is it appropriate to say the Berlin wall fell? It was smashed, it was crossed it was attacked, but fell? ‘Fell’ requires no united action so how is it a good way to describe the amazing events of 9th November 1989.

Anyway, ranting aside.

The Hoff sung this song about freedom by the Berlin wall in a fantastic coat so think it appropriate to share it with you.

There is the link to trafficking….. Freedom! He sung for freedom, we campaign for freedom? Are you with me?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zXiClnK8oE

What Planet Is Mars On?

Did you know that Mars, a leading global chocolate company, cannot guarantee that their chocolate is ‘traffik free’?

FACT: the ILO (International Labour Organisation) state it is highly likely slave labour is used in Mars’s cocoa production chain.

FACT: a significant proportion of these slaves are trafficked children.

35% of the world’s cocoa comes from the Ivory Coast, a nation in West Africa. Research supported by the ILO suggests that in the Ivory Coast alone there are at least 200,000 children working in slave conditions on cocoa farms. Thousands of these children have been trafficked into the Ivory Coast, originally from neighbouring countries such as Mali, Togo and Burkina Faso.

Children working on these farms are forced to do dangerous tasks. They spray pesticide onto cocoa plants without protective clothing. They carry sacks that are excessively heavy and use machetes without supervision or guidance.

Children are severely undernourished and overworked. They are separated from their families by force. They are denied education.

According to Mars, there is no way to trace the origins of their cocoa beans. This is because they are bought from middle-men who buy their beans from different farms.

Can Mars really claim ignorance of this situation?

The answer is clearly NO.

Mars is powerful and rich enough to dictate the terms on which it buys cocoa beans and has the money to check farming conditions and pay a better price for their beans.

It is difficult to understand why chocolate companies haven’t really tried to eradicate the worst forms of chid labour. Perhaps these companies are trying to keep the cost of chocolate low for their consumer, or to increase profits? Either way, this situation is not good enough.

Mars is losing its credibility, especially in the face of Cadbury’s recent decision to make Dairy Milk (the UK’s favourite chocolate bar) a fairtrade product by the end of summer 2009.

If Cadbury can do it, why not Mars? What planet is Mars on?

www.marchonmars.org 

Use your body for charity…

…And join us on the Brussels 20km run!

On March 31st in Brussels the traffic will indeed stop – but only the cars, buses and motorbikes, which will make way for the Brussels 20km run. There will be about 30 people running as a group for STOP THE TRAFFIK and we are hoping that the money raised will help us to continue the fight against human trafficking around the world. If you would like to join us, on 31^st May  - you will get a free T-shirt, waffle and Belgian beer- and of course lots of fun. Please contact either Phil Lane, director of charity Oasis Belgium on 0475 927 507, phillane@oasisglobal.org  or Niels Vandereyken on 0487 466 399.

If you can’t make it, but would like to sponsor us, please go to http://www.justgiving.com/sttbrussels20km

Thanks!

Secret Diary of a STOP THE TRAFFIK worker…

Hello everybody!

I just wanted to personally say a huge thank you to all those who voted for STOP THE TRAFFIK in the Kiwi Millionaire’s challenge to win $10000!

I have to admit, I became slightly addicted to checking up on how we were doing!

After I posted a request for help on the blog, I was absolutely thrilled to see the votes begin to come pouring in. By the time the deadline came you managed to rack up had over 40,000 votes. 40,000! (In case you missed what I just said, STOP THE TRAFFIK received over 40,000 votes!).

It is brilliant to know there are so many of you out there checking in, poised and ready to throw yourselves into action.

Now we just have to help Kiwi Millionaire raise the money! http://www.justgiving.com/ryankilfoil I will update you on his progress as it happens! Thanks a lot everybody!

Victoria

And the award goes to…

This week, STOP THE TRAFFIK would like to extend a warm HUGE thank you to the amazing, fantastic and inspirational Red River Theatre group run by Nigel Roberts based in Hinckley, Leicester.

Directed by Mr. Roberts, a number of budding actors and actresses produced a film called STRANDED. This thought provoking drama highlighted different challenges facing three teenage girls.  

The stories which revolved around bullying, family abuse and trafficking intertwined as the girls shared their experiences after finding themselves washed up in childhood wasteland – a space where robbed youth is lost and found.

I was fortunate enough to sit with three of the young stars and asked them about their experiences.

Monika, played by Cassie Shilladay is a normal girl who falls for a nice boy with a nasty brother. She was eventually tricked by the promise of a modeling career and trafficked overseas. 

“I didn’t know much about trafficking’ said Cassie ‘it was incredible to learn how big the problem was and that Britain is involved. It really bought home that it [trafficking] happened to people our age”

I asked whether it was hard playing such challenging roles by day and then slotting into normal mode at night.

“It was definitely a challenge to get in the role of being bullied” replied Sophie Wightman Who played Abi – the bullied ‘new girl’ at school. “It was alright during filming – it was when you got home that it hit and touched you”.

Zoe Grain who played Lisa – a girl abused by her father, very honestly admitted “it was a totally different mindset; I was almost scared to play it”.

The emotional and psychological journey the entire cast went on must have been demanding but the final production was incredibly touching and something everyone involved in the project should feel immensely proud of.

As a result of their hard work and with the support of Mr. Roberts, the Red River theatre group have toured local schools with assemblies, Zoe has given presentations focusing on trafficking into the cocoa industry , their first production ‘Girl in the Photograph’ has been viewed over 16,000 times and Stranded was downloaded at a rate of 40 a day.

In addition to these awareness raising successes, as a result of the film one audience member made a donation to the youth group who then presented a cheque for over £1000 to STOP THE TRAFFIK. This money is vital for us to continue our projects and directly adds to the fight against the horrific crime of people trafficking.

As Mr. Roberts said  ‘a life can be transformed by experiencing someone else’s”

Secret Diary Writer needs your help…

Dear reader,

This week, I have a favour to ask…….

As a charity organisation we are not funded by government / the EU or any other body for that matter. This means we rely totally on the generosity of our supporters to keep our campaigns alive and growing.

A lovely chap in New Zealand is going to run a marathon collecting money for charity along the way (he is hoping for $10000). He has listed a number of big, well-know charities on his website and is asking people to vote who should get the cash. One of the charities you can vote for is (dadada) STOP THE TRAFFIK!

The problem is that not many people are clued up to the scale and size of trafficking so when it comes to voting and funding, trafficking (despite being a mass violation of human rights)  always gets overlooked. PLEASE HELP!

STOP THE TRAFFIK need that money! With that much money we can:

-       set up community groups to research trafficking potential in their area

-       expand the businesstravellers.org website which is seeing a growing number of  tip-offs leading to the rescue of victims of trafficking

-       finalise the global webcast (a resource filmed from the UN in New York. It will be translated into 6 languages and aimed at raising awareness among communities who are at risk and in schools where other people can act as the voice of those who are victims)

-       campaign for the eradication of child trafficking in the cocoa industry 

If you have a second, PLEASE check out this website and get STOP THE TRAFFIK some votes! http://thekiwimillionaire.com/

THE DEALDINE IS IN 3 DAYS….

Get voting and send the link to as many people as you can!

Thank you for helping STOP THE TRAFFIK remain a force fighting traffikers

Victoria Kuhr

ipods and AK-47s

Over recent years there has been a steady rise in the use of children in war zones throughout the world. A number of conflicts involve trafficked children.

Sierra Leone, a country situated on the West coast of Africa, is slowly recovering after an 11 year civil war fought between the government and the rebel group RUF (Revolutionary United Front).  The forcible trafficking of children during this war was widespread, leaving a legacy one can only imagine.

Up to 10,000 boys and girls were involved in the conflict.  They were mainly between 8 and 14 years old and abducted from their villages.  Street children, many of whom lost their entire family in the conflict, were especially vulnerable to being kidnapped and trafficked.  Their experiences varied according to gender BUT both suffered horrendous abuses.

Boys 

In an attempt to control the children and turn them into fearless warriors, boys were forced to consume large volumes of alcohol and had gunpowder and cocaine sprinkled into their wounds.  This had two major effects: it would make them dependant on their trafficker and it would make them addicted to drugs and as a consequence easier to control.  Boys were also forced to kill their own family members, if you can kill your family you can kill anybody (or so the twisted logic goes).  The list of abuse goes on…

Girls  

Known as ‘bush wives’, girls as young as 8, were forcibly married to commanders based in the Sierra Leonean wilderness.  These girls were used as sex slaves and were at the mercy of their ‘husband’. 

The Sierra Leonean war may be over, but the battle still goes on.  Today, all over the world, children are being trafficked into war zones in countries like Sri Lanka, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

If you remember one thing, remember this.  At the same time a 9 year old child in your neighbourhood is fiddling about with his or her Ipod, another child is fiddling about with their AK-47. 

Secret Diary…

This week, I was SUPPOSED to be going to a college in Essex and a school in Surrey to talk about trafficking.

For the college students, I prepared a presentation and exercises looking at human rights and how societal attitudes and perceptions make women more vulnerable to trafficking. I was quite excited about it as I don’t normally, so blatantly, confront the issues of cultural attitudes towards women – it is always such a dangerous hot topic.

When the time came to think about my message I thought ‘You know what? I reckon it’s time to really challenge the causes of trafficking – how long can you stick a plaster over something this horrific without getting down to the nitty-gritty’. Armed with a steadfast belief in human rights I was truly looking forward to it.

For the year 7s it is obviously inappropriate to talk about sex trafficking so I was planning to talk to the students about trafficking in the cocoa industry – it is a great lesson with laughter, drama and video footage of boys rescued from the Cote d’Ivoire. Again, excited by the prospect of engaging young people in huge social issues I was ready to go.

But I didn’t go.

Because it snowed.

So I made a really rocking snowman instead.

Slumdog Millionaire

This weekend, I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. What a film. I was both impressed and astonished by what I saw, and not only because Slumdog Millionaire is not, repeat not, the ‘feel-good film’ that the posters say it is. Instead of the humorous, cheesy movie I was expecting, with perhaps a good song or two thrown in for good measure, I sat up to the terrifying issues that Slumdog raised about slum life in an urban metropolis. Harried on all sides by thugs and criminals, Jamal’s struggle to live freely turns into a fierce fight for survival.

There are some who worry that the film portrays Mumbai poorly. In particular, the issue of the kidnapping racket at the beginning of the film has caused a real stir. But the shocking reality is that Mumbai currently is one of the biggest destination cities for trafficked women and children in the world. Women and children are trafficked into Mumbai in a number of ways, for a number of reasons. Highest among these ranks the sex industry and forced domestic or factory labour. Mumbai’s slum population is teeming with migrants from rural parts of India. Poor, illiterate, and desperate to earn a living that will support dependant relatives at home, the empty promises of traffickers can lure the unsuspecting into enslaved conditions just the way we see Jamal and his brother tempted by Coca Cola into the hands of their kidnappers.

It isn’t easy to consider these terrible realities – which certainly do exist – in a criminal underworld in which the poorest of the poor are trapped. But to its credit, Slumdog Millionaire has created the opportunity for vital conversation and discussion about the invisible crime of human trafficking. Awareness is the first step towards action. So please tell us what you thought about the film!nt to see

Business Travellers Against Human Trafficking

STOP THE TRAFFIK launches its new campaign to involve business travellers in the fight against human trafficking. This campaign started when members of STOP THE TRAFFIK noticed that large numbers of under-aged, trafficked prostitutes were being offered to businessmen, while they were away from home, travelling for work.

STOP THE TRAFFIK realised it was important to educate businessmen, hotel and airport staff about this worrying trend and to develop new ways to raise awareness and train people about how to detect and report signs of sex trafficking. “We know that trafficking victims are offered to business travellers and we know that the latter are often horrified by what they see but don’t take action because they don’t want to get involved with the local police or don’t have the time,” says Steve Chalke, founder of Stop the Traffik. “With the launch of our website we are offering business people an easy way to report incidents and to change the situation.”

This new campaign is already showing encouraging results. After the Business Travellers Against Human Trafficking campaign was aired on Spanish television, a tour operator contacted the campaign to report details of business trips that regularly arranged visits with trafficked prostitutes. STOP THE TRAFFIK then reported the matter to the police.

The Business Travellers Against Human Trafficking campaign is already active in the USA and Belgium and has been endorsed by over 200 members of the European Parliament. It is coming to South Africa in the near future. If you would like to report an incident or find out more please visit http://www.businesstravellers.org