Cambridge students act to break the chains of modern slavery
June 19, 2007 5:07 PM
Students from the Cambridge SPEAK group have made the biggest paper chain Cambridge has ever seen to draw attention to the fact that slavery still exists, and it's going on here.
Today one man, woman or child is trafficked across international borders every minute, for forced labour in agriculture, domestic service or prostitution and human trafficking is the second biggest form of international crime after drug smuggling. So hundreds of people across Cambridge have been asked to write their feelings about this situation as they make links in the chain, and sign the STOP THE TRAFFIK petition calling for change that will prevent the sale of people, prosecute the traffickers and protect the trafficked.
Jenny Auton, leader of the group said:
"I was heartbroken when I heard about the number of people who come here trying to make a better life for themselves, and end up having their passports stolen by their captors, beaten and forced to work without pay. When I heard that traffickers hardly ever get caught because victims of trafficking are usually just deported if they report the situation to the police, I knew I had to do something."
David Howarth added:
The giant paperchain is wrapped around Great St Mary's
"It has been 200 year since the Abolition of the Slave Trade but still thousands of people every year live as slaves, including many in the UK. The Government needs to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. We need to take action to prevent trafficking as well as prosecuting traffickers operating in the UK."
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