From the book, Economies of Violence by Jennifer Suchland If the millions who have been mobilised to fight human trafficking as modern day slavery can reach through to the other side of their compassion - to the side where the losers of globalisation reside - then broader and bigger coalitions can be made. If at the local level we can connect modern-day slavery to histories of violent settlement and slavery, then our projects for prevention may be more deeply grounded. If Governments and advocacy groups see anti-trafficking as part of the work of social provisioning and community empowerment, then states will be more accountable for its role in trafficking. If making a life worth living is seen as part of our collective humanity and not just an individual choice, then possibly we will have less tolerance for economies of violence. If only. I am ready for all ifs and buts. Are you? :-) #freedommatters #stophumantrafficking
"Where are we wrong in this fight against human trafficking?" - Kailash Satyarthi, 2014 Nobel Peace Laureate
Want to know what you can do to help? Read on - What Can We Do?
Want to know how many slaves work for you? Know your slavery footprint now!
http://slaveryfootprint.org
http://slaveryfootprint.org
Kalki Koechlin has a solution for you. Watch on....
"Because the obvious choice for all of us is - either we keep mopping the floor or we really close the tap."
- Anju Dubey Pandey, Ending Violence Against Women Specialist, UN Women South Asia Office
Want to help in closing the tap? Let us prevent human trafficking from happening in the first place!
Here are some steps you can take - What Can We Do
Releasing on 26 January 2016.
These pictures speak for themselves. There is no intention here to make any of us guilty. Also no claim is being here that we should stop consuming everything. We cannot do that. But what we can do is take action.
If you feel you are part of this and you should take action, visit WalkFree and join their online fight to demand answers from these producers and to change such practices.
We can still get all that we consume through fair means. Let us turn unfair to fair!
(This blog post will be regularly updated)
Dear Fellow Freedom Fighters,
Thank you for taking that one step to change the world. Here are a few simple steps that each one of us, irrespective of our educational background or profession can take; no matter where we are in the world. Needless to mention, some or all of these come together to make an impact. Therefore, we need to have faith and patience in our individual action, no matter what it is.
1. Be a conscientious human being
Dear Fellow Freedom Fighters,
Thank you for taking that one step to change the world. Here are a few simple steps that each one of us, irrespective of our educational background or profession can take; no matter where we are in the world. Needless to mention, some or all of these come together to make an impact. Therefore, we need to have faith and patience in our individual action, no matter what it is.
1. Be a conscientious human being
The least we can do is to ensure that we do not employ a child at home or work and, do not let anyone around us work under inhuman and exploitative conditions.
2. Power of social media
2. Power of social media
Recently, a lot of petitions have been successful in ensuring justice for victims and survivors of human trafficking. All we need to do is spend a minute for signing an online petition. If we want to help further, we can share them on Facebook with your friends. Our 1 minute can go a long way in saving lives.
Anti Slavery International - Join Online Campaigns
Walk Free - Sign Online Petitions
3. Like facebook pages of organisations
We can help them spread the word about the issue, share success stories and helpline numbers.
a. Shakti Vahini
b. Anti-Slavery International
c. International Justice Mission
d. Polaris
e. Walk Free
f. Free The Slaves
g. Bachpan Bachao Andolan
h. Global Rescue Relief
i. Kat-Katha
among many others.
Organisation websites
Sannihita
Country wise list of NGOs here.
4. Sponsor a child online
We can give a one-time donation or a regular monthly donation to support a child’s education. These organisations send periodic reports on the child’s progress. Education helps in reducing vulnerability to exploitative situations, like getting trafficked.
Anti Slavery International - Join Online Campaigns
Walk Free - Sign Online Petitions
3. Like facebook pages of organisations
We can help them spread the word about the issue, share success stories and helpline numbers.
a. Shakti Vahini
b. Anti-Slavery International
c. International Justice Mission
d. Polaris
e. Walk Free
f. Free The Slaves
g. Bachpan Bachao Andolan
h. Global Rescue Relief
i. Kat-Katha
among many others.
Organisation websites
Sannihita
Country wise list of NGOs here.
4. Sponsor a child online
We can give a one-time donation or a regular monthly donation to support a child’s education. These organisations send periodic reports on the child’s progress. Education helps in reducing vulnerability to exploitative situations, like getting trafficked.
b. Deepalaya
As Bhuwan Ribhu points out - as consumers, we have the right in demanding the kind of products we want. Write to companies, send e-mails and sign online petitions.
Visit Made in a Free World to know more
Determine your Slavery Footprint here.
6. Donate
There are a lot of organisations around the world which need financial resources. We can help them. If you do not find any organisation to donate, kindly write to us. We together can find an organisation where your money can have the maximum intended impact.
If you would like to donate to a shelter home which is doing an inspiring and tough job to educating the children of sex workers inside Delhi's (India) red light area, you can write to Lalitha SA at lalithasa10@gmail.com. Your contribution will make her fight a bit easier. More about her organisation can be found at SPID or you can watch this video to know about her shelter home (a home in real sense of the word). Get ready to be inspired!
7. Volunteer/Mentor/Intern
Volunteering to teach or mentor a child or adult in any organization can reduce the vulnerability of that person to exploitative conditions. 2-4 hours per week is all that is required. You can find local NGOs in your locality who need volunteers. If you do not find any and you wish to volunteer, write to us. We together can try to find one.
Volunteering opportunities around the world available at -
http://www.idealist.org
https://www.omprakash.org
Some organisations in India where you can apply:
Make a Difference
People for Parity
8. Use your talent
People use photography, writing, public speaking and other forms of talents to spread awareness on the issue. For instance, one can learn about the issue and write on blogs about it, we can also open clubs in our college and workplace to tell people about ways they can try to contribute to the cause, fundraise for NGOs etc.
6. Donate
There are a lot of organisations around the world which need financial resources. We can help them. If you do not find any organisation to donate, kindly write to us. We together can find an organisation where your money can have the maximum intended impact.
If you would like to donate to a shelter home which is doing an inspiring and tough job to educating the children of sex workers inside Delhi's (India) red light area, you can write to Lalitha SA at lalithasa10@gmail.com. Your contribution will make her fight a bit easier. More about her organisation can be found at SPID or you can watch this video to know about her shelter home (a home in real sense of the word). Get ready to be inspired!
7. Volunteer/Mentor/Intern
Volunteering to teach or mentor a child or adult in any organization can reduce the vulnerability of that person to exploitative conditions. 2-4 hours per week is all that is required. You can find local NGOs in your locality who need volunteers. If you do not find any and you wish to volunteer, write to us. We together can try to find one.
Volunteering opportunities around the world available at -
http://www.idealist.org
https://www.omprakash.org
Some organisations in India where you can apply:
Make a Difference
People for Parity
8. Use your talent
People use photography, writing, public speaking and other forms of talents to spread awareness on the issue. For instance, one can learn about the issue and write on blogs about it, we can also open clubs in our college and workplace to tell people about ways they can try to contribute to the cause, fundraise for NGOs etc.
9. Raise your voice
If we are skeptical, we should raise our voice, be a whistle blower, report an incident of crime.
Global hotlines across the world can be found here.
10. Report an incident of crime
In India,
- National helpline for children - Childline at 1098
- Bachpan Bachao Andolan - +91 11 49211111, +91 11 26224899 or file a complaint on their website
- Call Shakti Vahini at +91 11 42244224, +91 11 31909025 for incidents related to forced sex work and forced marriage
11. Open a club/society at university/college/school
Students at any level of educational system can make a huge difference. A society in college dedicated to the anti-human trafficking mission can spread awareness, work with local NGOs, help them fundraise, gather more people to take up these simple steps.
12. Host gathering to spread awareness (be a peer educator)
We can host gatherings, show documentaries and discuss about human trafficking. The purpose is manifold - one, awareness generation to reduce vulnerability and two, getting more people to fight this crime. You can use this documentary or any other documentary and share the resources mentioned here.
13. Be a responsbile producer
The least we can do as producers and manufacturers is to ensure that we do not employ and children and we do not encourage or support forced labour, which means that we give fait wages to all.
We need the producers and manufacturers to join this fight against human trafficking with us because as we all know that majority of human trafficking around the world is for forced labour.
14. NGO-corporate partnership
One of the challenges that non-profit organisations working against human trafficking face is lack of sustained socred of funding. Corporates can come together with NGOs not just for funding support but also to help with their expertise.
A. Visit websites of organisations to know more
B. Study human trafficking
If you would like to specifically learn about the issue through formal education, here are some courses you can pursue online or otherwise.
a. ‘Human Trafficking' by The Ohio State University, Columbus on Courseera (1 month free online course).
b. 'Certificate in Anti-Human Trafficking' by the Indira Gandhi National Open University, India (Distance learning course. Can be completed in at least 6 months and maximum 2 years).
C. Media sources
CNN Freedom Project
GUARDIAN Modern Day Slavery in Focus
D. Open Education on Trafficking and Slavery by 150 top academicians and practitioners
Beyond Trafficking and Slavery
16. Be a compassionate social activist/development professional
a. Financial stability is not necessarily an issue - Many people think that money would be an issue because this work doesn’t seem like it would pay our bills. However, there are people who have money, there are foundations which are ready to give you a scholarship, the NGO’s also pay you enough to take care of the bills. When the sages coined this saying - where there is a will, there is a way - they were not kidding. If you REALLY want to do something, the money comes from weird places you don’t even know existed.
If you would like to specifically learn about the issue through formal education, here are some courses you can pursue online or otherwise.
a. ‘Human Trafficking' by The Ohio State University, Columbus on Courseera (1 month free online course).
b. 'Certificate in Anti-Human Trafficking' by the Indira Gandhi National Open University, India (Distance learning course. Can be completed in at least 6 months and maximum 2 years).
C. Media sources
CNN Freedom Project
GUARDIAN Modern Day Slavery in Focus
D. Open Education on Trafficking and Slavery by 150 top academicians and practitioners
Beyond Trafficking and Slavery
16. Be a compassionate social activist/development professional
a. Financial stability is not necessarily an issue - Many people think that money would be an issue because this work doesn’t seem like it would pay our bills. However, there are people who have money, there are foundations which are ready to give you a scholarship, the NGO’s also pay you enough to take care of the bills. When the sages coined this saying - where there is a will, there is a way - they were not kidding. If you REALLY want to do something, the money comes from weird places you don’t even know existed.
Here are a few links for job opportunities - work full time - Job opportunities around the world
b. You need not be a full time social activist if you are in a different profession - Look around. There are poeple who need our help. An example of what you can do to change the world is here - The Children in the Park
A collection of some or all of these actionable points strengthens advocacy and activism and brings change. Needless to say, this is not an exhaustive list. We are learning too. Therefore, if anybody has any other sources or websites, we can keep adding to this list.
Also, if anyone would like to share their experiences of taking up these simple steps, or share any thoughts on these, or has any doubt regarding the authenticity or the ability of these sources to really make an impact or is not able to access any of the above mentioned ways, please feel free to write on this blog or email at aht.pankhuri@gmail.com.
Thank You. It is time to rock the world, TOGETHER!
b. You need not be a full time social activist if you are in a different profession - Look around. There are poeple who need our help. An example of what you can do to change the world is here - The Children in the Park
A collection of some or all of these actionable points strengthens advocacy and activism and brings change. Needless to say, this is not an exhaustive list. We are learning too. Therefore, if anybody has any other sources or websites, we can keep adding to this list.
Also, if anyone would like to share their experiences of taking up these simple steps, or share any thoughts on these, or has any doubt regarding the authenticity or the ability of these sources to really make an impact or is not able to access any of the above mentioned ways, please feel free to write on this blog or email at aht.pankhuri@gmail.com.
Thank You. It is time to rock the world, TOGETHER!
:-)
Three reasons why we should care -
1. It can happen with anyone of us - Traffickers do not discriminate
when it comes to various religions, castes, or educational backgrounds. It cuts
across all the classes and genders of our society. One need not be from a lower
socio-economic class to be trafficked. Men and boys are trafficked too.
Therefore, there is very high possibility
that it can happen with ANYONE of us.
2. We promote human trafficking and slavery - We all
are a part of the system which fuels the disgrace that human-trafficking is. We promote this slavery in our
daily lives, like when a child is employed in our home or business, when a
domestic help is abused and paid low wages, when an adult is forced to work
under inhumane conditions, or when forced sex work flourishes because of us.
Our everyday lifestyle choices, including our gadgets, our apparels and
accessories, and even our groceries, many-a times involve slavery in their
supply chains. This problem is, thus, inextricably linked to us.
3. We push people into slavery even when they wish to come out of it - Even if the people enslaved try to come out
of this exploitative situation, we stigmatise them. They are not given
respectable jobs. Marrying them is considered a taboo. We do not even integrate
their children into our community. So we are contributing to
their already exploitative situation.
Thus, all of us are guilty. If not by
association, we are guilty because we either turn our faces the other way or
roll our eyes when we see trafficking in work.
And of course it is not possible for us to not get put of our house, or buy products that we need. But it is possible for us to take action.
What action can we take? Find out here
Before requesting you all to join the fight
against human trafficking with us, it is pertinent on our part to share with you
why fighting against human trafficking is so crucial for us. Why does it
bother us so much? Why are we determined to spend each day working
towards it's ultimate demise?
We dream of a sustainable free world for
every individual; a world where dignity is considered as important as basic needs such as food, water and shelter are. We dream of a world which is not built on the
foundations of human exploitation but on mutual respect and love for fellow
human beings. We dream of a world completely free of human trafficking.
How attainable is our dream? Are we optimists?
People question the attainability of this dream,
how practical it is that this world will one day be completely free of
human-trafficking? Some even call us optimists. We agree that we are optimists, but to make this world a better
place, we need optimists and not just realists. The reality is disturbing. We know this because we have seen the reality. The reality is not what you see in college, hanging around with friends; the reality is not what you see in
the so-called Reality TV shows and it isn’t there in the AC rooms you go back
to when you’re tired after a day’s work in the office. The reality is what you
see in the eyes of a girl whom you have just rescued from months of sexual and
emotional exploitation; the reality is what you hear in the trembling voice of
a mother whose child is nowhere to be found. Reality lies in the talks of those
who have been harassed so much that they are afraid of living normal lives, who
are so dependent on the people who harass them that being exploited becomes
their routine and they are afraid to break out of it. And the reality also lies
in words of a survivor of human trafficking, when she talks about the
importance of freedom and hope, and how she wants to become a teacher to make
this world a better place.
The dream doesn't necessarily die with the
individual
The reality which most of the people see is
actually a denial of what the reality actually is. It isn’t realistic to talk
about human trafficking as an incurable disease, or to consider it as a problem
which doesn’t concern us. It is pessimistic to do so. We are not saying that
human trafficking will end in our lifetime. Hell, we don’t even know if it will
be over in our grandchildren’s lifetime! All we know is that if we all work
together, fifty years down the line, when someone asks us or anyone else about
the condition of human trafficking in this world, the answer will not include
the present count of 36 million people who are victims of slavery worldwide.
The count will be much less. Gradually, but definitely, the numbers will
be gone. We’ll make them disappear. We are confident of leaving a safer world in
the hands of strong hearted individuals who shall chase our dream after we are gone. After all, the dream doesn’t necessarily die with the individual.
Join us in this noble endeavor!
The fight is long and hard and we need as many committed people who believe that this inhuman crime should disappear. You don’t have to be
just a spectator and watch us fight, you can join this fight with us! The best
part about development is that all issues are interlinked. And that we all can
contribute to the cause without getting out of our comfort zones – watch the documentary and this blog page to know how you can help! Human trafficking isn’t my problem or her problem or their problem, it is OUR problem.
Power of hope and faith
Human trafficking is a big problem, it
doesn’t have a one-word answer. Its answer is long, very long. But that’s an
issue only if a few people are answering it. If each one of us
decides to contribute just a bit, take that one simple step, we will get the answer written
in no time at all. All you have to answer is this: What will your verse be?
With hope and faith that you will
take that ONE SIMPLE STEP to fight human trafficking. :-)
