HUMAN TRAFFICKING: WHAT IS IT?
Human trafficking is the illegal movement of people from one country or area to another, with the aim of exploiting them. Typically, victims of human trafficking may be victims of forced labour or sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery.
THE FIGHT TO END HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Human trafficking is a problem which affects the international community and demands action. Across Africa, there are non-profit and non-governmental organisations dedicated to ending human trafficking. For example, Challenging Heights is a Ghanaian survivor-led organisation fighting against the trafficking of children. In Nigeria, Devatop Centre for Africa Development is youth-led and committed to empowering survivors and sensitising the country’s population.
ART AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING
For many survivors of human trafficking, art and literature are tools with which they can tell their personal stories. In Kenya, the Nairobi-based NGO named Awareness Against Human Trafficking (HAART) launched ‘Arts to End Slavery’ in 2015. HAART’s project aims to raise awareness of human trafficking and its effects creatively. Through its collaboration with local artists, ‘Arts to End Slavery’ is a community-based project which prioritises the social impact of art.
ARTIST PROFILE: BRIAN OMOLO
Brian Omolo is a graphic artist, born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. His work has been supported through his collaboration with ‘Arts to End Slavery’. In 2017, his artwork ‘They Told Me I Was Going to the City’ was exhibited by HAART/A2ES and is an example of visual storytelling. Omolo illustrates the personal experience of human trafficking as well as the confusion, trauma and victimisation it causes.
A DATE TO REMEMBER: 30 JULY 2020
The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is an annual event organised by the United Nations to promote awareness of human trafficking. On this day, the international community is encouraged to consider how to implement a global solution in response to human trafficking and how to support survivors of human trafficking who continue to live with the trauma of their experience.
Picture Credit: Equal Times
