The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

 Today, December 2nd, is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

I'm going to spend it at an event in downtown Boston tonight supporting The My Life My Choice program.  More about that likely in the next post!

Take a minute today to read the following comments from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, reprinted here in their entirety from the U.N. website:

"On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, we express our commitment to the complete eradication of slavery and slavery-like practices.


Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and slave trade shall prohibited in all their forms”. Yet slavery remains a grave and unresolved problem. This is true in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe.


In our globalized world, new forms of slavery have taken shape. The list of abhorrent practices, new and old, is now shockingly long, and includes debt bondage, serfdom, forced labour, child labour and servitude, trafficking of persons and human organs, sexual slavery, the use of child soldiers, the sale of children, forced marriage and the sale of wives, and the exploitation of prostitution.


The majority of those who suffer are the poor and socially excluded groups such as minorities and migrants. The overlapping factors of poverty, class and race create structural problems and cycles of marginalization that are hard to break.


Indigenous peoples are more exposed to bonded labour because in many countries they have limited access to land. Gender inequalities and discrimination, lack of education, desperation for work and demand for cheap labour also trap people. The global economic and financial crisis threatens to heighten vulnerability further still.


Combating slavery means not only its direct prohibition by law but also fighting against poverty, illiteracy, economic and social disparities, gender discrimination and violence against women and children. We need to enforce laws against slavery; create mechanisms to combat such practices; reinforce bilateral, regional and international cooperation, including with non-governmental organizations that assist victims; and launch awareness raising campaign.


On this International Day, let us renew our pledge to assist and protect the victims and to do our utmost to ensure the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family."

Counting Blessings, Giving Thanks

It's that time of year where we look around and give thanks for our blessings... and I have many this year.

I'm reading Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's "Half the Sky," and each chapter makes me realize even more how blessed my life has been.  So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are a couple of things I'm giving thanks for this year.

Image by Road Fun

• My family, friends and loved ones, of course
• You, who are reading this
• My husband, who is the picture of a good man
• My parents, for valuing my life, unlike millions of girls all over the world
• My education, literacy and the opportunities it has granted me
• My job, during a time when many are searching for one, and that it allows me to use my brain rather than my body
• The amount of awareness that came out in 2009 about human/child sex trafficking, in the U.S. and around the world
• The April Love146 partner trip I took this year, which I think about every single day
• Clean water that comes in different temperatures and is easily accessible, and indoor plumbing
• All the food I'm going to eat tomorrow, and the fact that I have never felt true hunger in my life
• Medical care and vaccinations, and the health insurance to pay for it
• A safe place to live, and the privacy and peace of mind that comes along with it
• The opportunities my future children will have simply based on the place they are born

This doesn't even begin to cover it; but I hope this small list helps you to celebrate a few of the blessings in your life this year, too.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Anti-Trafficking Talks and Networking at the Kennedy School

Image by Thomas Hawk

Last night in Boston was cold, rainy, and inspiring; I spent it at a networking event on anti-human trafficking at The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Panelists included Cherie Jimenez of Kim’s Project, Jeff Gulati, who is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bentley University, and Katherine Chon, President and Co-founder of Polaris Project.

This was a much better dialogue than the last Harvard event I attended, focusing on practical issues rather than terminology/semantics. The speakers were from very different backgrounds and are currently playing various roles in the fight against trafficking, and they each had interesting things to say. I jotted down some notes as they were talking and wanted to share the highlights with you below.

When discussing the strengths and skills needed to be in a career that fights trafficking, Cherie, who founded Kim’s Project based on her own experience in the sex trade, said that first and foremost there is a need for compassion and understanding of how to empower people. One of my favorite points that she made throughout the night was that “just as everyone has a story for how they ended up in the sex trade, they will each have a different story for how they get out.”

Jeff talked about how people who are going to engage in fighting trafficking have to be willing to take the long view—and need to understand that making a large-scale difference in this process won’t yield immediate returns. This isn’t a light-switch sort of problem. Katherine proposed that those interested in an anti-trafficking profession need to identify answers to three preliminary questions:

• What’s already out there, being done, from an organizational standpoint?
• What are my particular passions/skill sets?
• How much of my life am I willing to/want to put into this?

The conversation then shifted to discuss the challenges that we currently face in fighting trafficking—including sex trafficking, forced labor, adoption trafficking, even organ trafficking. Cherie talked about how crucial it is that we examine and identify the root causes that lead to trafficking, and then attack those. While we often get caught up in “trafficking” as a standalone entity, it is really an amalgamation of much deeper issues, and we need to change the systemic elements (extreme poverty, lack of education, a growing individualism that lacks any outer societal responsibilities) that are actually creating the industry.

Jeff added to this point by mentioning that he often examines how the issue of human trafficking is portrayed in the media. It’s something that I will be more aware of as I read news stories: Are gender/race inequalities being addressed as part of the larger picture of systemic causes, or does most of the coverage solely center on the problem being built out of organized crime?

Based on her years running Polaris Project, Katherine discussed the challenge of experiencing secondary trauma in a job that makes you face the brutalities of human trafficking day in, day out—and the importance of finding the right balance. She mentioned how sad it is to see brilliant, caring people become burned out and leave, and that working with survivors of human trafficking will never be a 9-to-5 job.

Finally, an issue that came up repeatedly was how divisive the activism field can be. People will always have differing ideas of how and why to get something done, and it can get nasty dealing with politics—especially if you’ve invested a lot of yourself. Anti-trafficking organizations need to pay their own bills and be sustainable, but we can often become lost in our own branding, reputation, and individual strategy instead of how we can most effectively attack the problem from a collaborative standpoint.

After the panel we had the opportunity to meet others who are interested in taking a role in anti-trafficking activism, and I had a number of conversations with some great people, including law students, future policy makers and even one of the representatives from Minga. Most encouraging was the turnout—the room was full, and interest was high.

A special thanks to each of the panelists and to Christina Bain at the Kennedy School for a night that has given me a lot to think about.

Links of Light: Recommended Posts on Trafficking

There are some really great bloggers out there that are consistently writing good posts on child trafficking and modern-day slavery.  So I'm introducing a new, semi-regular category called Links of Light that will pick out some of my recent favorites by other bloggers and share them with you.

The first installment: 

• Regarding Thanks--and Giving: some tales of selfless giving to Love146, even during hard economic times, written by their wonderful accounting administrator, Jennifer Franz. 
  
• "They are Merchandise Because They Are Just Pounds of Meat:" a look at the documentary "Lives for Sale" by Diana Scimone. Diana jotted down some thoughts she had as she watched the film, including this telling quote from a state attorney in the U.S. who prosecutes traffickers:  "One of the first things I have to do is convince a jury that slavery actually exists."
• "Human Rights Remain Off the Radar Screen:" an op-ed by Paul Bernish on President Obama's recent trip to Asia and the lack of any direct address to human rights violations in the area. 
  
• "Incredible Slavery Survivor-Activists Honored at Freedom Awards:" an encouraging look from the Emancipation Network at two modern-day heros in the fight against human trafficking.  Read about how Sina Vann and Veero are singlehandedly saving hundreds of their neighbors from the slavery they escaped from.   
  

Got any other good recent posts to share?  Please link to them in the comments so we can all take a read!

Image by Moriza

GEMS Girls and You Will Survive

GEMS Girls and the Council of Daughters are asking for your photos of support.

In conjunction with the launch of a song re-recorded specially for GEMS by Sinead O'Connor and Mary J. Blige called "This is to Mother You," the organizations are collecting encouraging photographs from people all over the country with the message "You will survive."

Here's how it works:
Go to this website and download a PDF sign for printing.  Take a photo of yourself or a group holding signs and email it to motheryousong (at) gmail.com by November 25th.

I LOVE this idea.  Given all of the harm that has been done to girls trafficked for pornography, I hope that by turning the camera on ourselves we will send a visual encouragement to these girls that they are survivors and that we are behind them.  (Side note--due to reflections you'll probably need to use a mirror to take the picture so it's readable!)

"This is to Mother You" will be available for digital download from GEMS and at select retailers on December 2, which is the international date for the abolition of slavery.

So with Shaniya Davis fresh in our minds and the eyes of the U.S. suddenly focused on human trafficking, whip out those cameras, mobile phones or webcams and send a message of support to those who have been exploited on our streets and in our backyards.

A Sad Day, and a "Beautiful Slave"

There is a lot of heartbreak today, in the abolitionist community and beyond, about the news that 5-year-old Shaniya Davis was a victim of child sex trafficking and murder in North Carolina. 

I keep coming back to a song I heard and video I saw over the weekend from a nonprofit Christian "musicianary" band called Take No Glory.  "Beautiful Slave" is a song that sounds like it could have been played by Evanescence, woven into a simple children's hymn that people who grew up going to Protestant churches will recognize: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."  The transition happens around the 3:25 mark. 



Locked in brothels in Southeast Asia or trafficked by relatives in North Carolina, they are precious in his sight.  This little girl is at peace now, and for the rest who are still waiting: we will come for you.

Trafficking Blogroll

Unfortunately, in the Big Move mentioned in my previous post, my blogroll somehow got lost.  If you were on there previously or think that you should be, please email me at seasonoflightblog (at) gmail.com or leave a note in the comments below!

Love,
Emily