Most of us, myself included, would find it hard to pinpoint immediately the position of Romania on a map of the continent, so if I were to say to you that Romania was responsible for a terrible illegal import trade to the UK we would be really wondering what it could be. However, I learnt today from the BBC2 documentary Sex Slaves Next Door, aired on 24 Jan, that the majority of girls trafficked into the UK to work in pop up brothels come from there. The documentary is hard to watch as there are several heartrending stories of underage girls and the fate that awaits them when they are either kidnapped, or inveigled into the clutches of the slavers.
One of the saddest scenes was filmed in a safe house set up in Romania to rescue underage girls. Some of these were as young as 12 and the camera filmed them writing their letters to Santa Claus at Christmas. One read ‘I want a family to love,’ and another ‘I want a house and a family.’ Their longings are the same as ours but the big difference is that it is unlikely, once they have been sold into slavery, that they will ever realise them.
These young children have had their lives stolen from them. This also happens in the novel ‘The Garden of Sparkling Delight,’ which was written to highlight the terrible emotional and physical price paid by one young girl who was tricked into sexual slavery. If you want to empathise with these girls, please read or listen to this novel.
You can listen on line for free and download the audio from this web site. Just follow the link "Tis the podcast" at the top of this page. You will also find the link below to access the novel on You Tube. If you prefer to read, then you will find the novel as a paperback and on the Kindle e-reader from Amazon. The author is Deborah Varen who cares deeply for each young life which has been ruined by this trade. Please read or listen to this and do what you can to end sexual slave traffic.
"The Garden of Sparkling Delight" is 'Tis' on YouTube.
For up to date information from those working to end this trade and support victims contact:-
ECPAT www.ecpat.org.uk [End Child Pornography and Trafficking] is active in the UK and several other countries. It specialises is lobbying, campaigning and supporting rescued slaves.
The A21 Campaign www.thea21campaign.org - this is a global NGO that fights to abolish injustice in the 21st century. Its focus is on those affected by human trafficking and it runs prevention and protection schemes throughout Europe, Australia and USA.
Stop the Traffik www.stopthetraffik.org - A global movement of individuals communities and organizations fighting to prevent human trafficking around the world.
Meninadanca www.meninadanca.org - This society fights child prostitution along the remote arterial highways of Brazil. They also provide a place of safety where rescued girls can go and be rehabilitated.
Plenty here to show your support and some of these charities need practical helpers.
Thank you for reading this blog. Please share this blog with others.
No comments:
Post a Comment