Slavery In Our Times

To help people understand their plight, a powerful and disturbing exhibition has been put together. Called "Journey," the exhibit is based on the testimony of Elena and other girls like her. It has had a searing impact on all who have seen it. But "Journey" also contains a message of hope. It reveals—as I have learned from Elena and other survivors—the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit. It shows how, with support and care, these courageous women can rebuild their lives.

The exhibit traveled from London to Vienna early last month for an extraordinary international gathering of 1,400 experts, legislators, law-enforcement officers, business leaders and campaigners, all determined to help stamp out this evil trade. And it should be coming to the United States soon.

A unique initiative of six organizations under the rubric of the U.N. Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), the Vienna Forum highlighted how little is being done to fight the problem internationally. U.S. State Department figures show that in 2004 (the last year for which numbers are available), there were only about 3,000 successful convictions of criminals worldwide for related offenses. With more than 80 women being smuggled into Britain alone each week for the sex trade, this lack of action should make us all very angry.

I passionately hope the Vienna Forum and UN.GIFT manage to persuade countries to step up their enforcement efforts. But I left Vienna more certain than ever that, while leadership at the top is crucial, each of us must also step up to the mark.

Much as we need international organizations, national governments, the police and courts to bring traffickers to justice, we must all examine how we behave. The solutions lie in all our hands. Businesses must ask searching questions about their suppliers and not let themselves be fobbed off with convenient answers. As consumers, we need to think about what we buy, where it comes from and under what conditions it's made. Everyone can make a difference. If we explain to our own kids how children are forced to work as slaves in cocoa plantations, for example, they will press us to buy Fair Trade chocolate.

Above all, we have to keep our eyes open and not be afraid of letting our voices be heard. This is not a problem happening somewhere else. It is on all our own doorsteps.

Elena and many thousands of people like her need us to come to their aid. We can no longer keep walking past their door and ignore their cries for help.

Thompson is an Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter and the chair of the Helen Bamber Foundation.

© 2008