** PRESS RELEASE FROM LION **
CHERIE BLAIR JOINS PANEL OF HIGH PROFILE EXPERTS TO DISCUSS THE GLOBAL CRIME OF PEOPLE TRAFFICKING
Cherie Blair and representatives from the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking (UN GIFT) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) came together at a press conference in London yesterday
with the founder and CEO of global movement STOP THE TRAFFIK to raise public awareness of people trafficking, the fastest growing crime in the world today.
The press conference came ahead of the publication on
25 March 2009 of STOP THE TRAFFIK: People Shouldn’t Be Bought and Sold (Lion, 978 0 7459 5358 8, £7.99), written by broadcaster and activist Steve Chalke, with a chapter by Cherie Blair. This is an eye-opening
exploration, written at a popular level, of this shameful crime, which also suggests ways in which ordinary people can make a difference in helping to bring this illegal and hugely profitable trade to an end.
Cherie Blair, who has written a chapter for the book about the trafficking of women and women’s rights, acknowledged that, while trafficking affects men, women and children around the world, the crime
‘wears a woman’s face’. Despite the vast scale of the issue – it is estimated that a man, woman or child is trafficked at a rate of more than one a minute – she highlighted the importance of not despairing
at the enormity of what is happening around the world, but believing that action can make a difference. ‘The heart of it is personal responsibility,’ she said, ‘and being willing to stand up and be counted.
Our goal has to be that we can build a better world – for every man, woman and child’.
The theme that small actions collectively can make a huge impact was a keynote of the press conference. Doris Buddenberg from the UN (who had flown across from Geneva for this event) spoke of the importance
of the book in highlighting simple actions that we can all do to make a positive difference – on a local, national and international scale. Andy Baker from the Serious Organised Crime Agency emphasised that a
sense of personal and community responsibility is vital in the fight against human trafficking. ‘It’s all about choice’, he stated, contrasting the many choices we have in terms of what we buy, wear and eat
with the utter lack of choice which the victims of trafficking have in their lives.
Steve Chalke, founder of STOP THE TRAFFIK and main author of this new book, is also UN GIFT Special Advisor on Community Action Against Human Trafficking. He spoke of the genesis of the movement through
the work of a colleague in schools for underprivileged children in India. One day, two of the children didn’t turn up for school. When they were absent for a few days, his colleague went to investigate – and
discovered that their alcoholic father had sold both children, aged 7 and 9, to a trafficker for around £10. This was the start of STOP THE TRAFFIK, a movement which now has 1500 member organisations in 50
countries around the world, a grass roots following of countless activists. Established in 2006, their supporters around the world are evidence that small actions, when undertaken on a wide scale, can make
a big difference. Just last week, chocolate giant Cadbury announced that their flagship product, Dairy Milk, will be fairly traded as of this summer. This followed two years of campaigning by STOP THE TRAFFIK,
targeting the chocolate industry to produce chocolate that is traffik free.. Steve and Ruth and the rest of the panel are understandably delighted at Cadbury announcement. But they are the first to acknowledge
that, although this is a step in the right direction, the job is far from done. Their current campaign, March on Mars, encourages everyone to take action until all our chocolate is free of exploitative
child labour.
Contacts for more information:
For more information about the work of STOP THE TRAFFIK, email bex.keer@stopthetraffik.org
For more information about the new book, to discuss interviews with Steve Chalke and Ruth Dearnley and/or request a review copy, please contact Rhoda Hardie (rhodah@lionhudson.com / direct tel. 01865 302742).
Photos from the press conference are available from Rhoda Hardie (see above) on request; a press release about the book is pasted below and information sheets about Cherie Blair, Steve Chalke and Ruth
Dearnley are available on request from Rhoda.
[«back]