Matt Redman’s new song for justice - anti trafficking song hits the charts this month 27th Feb
For Sale: People should not be bold or sold
Digging through some old stuff I came across this picture made by Sarah Melbourne with the help of Richard Dobson. This was made on a creative worship day which I had organised with a focus on prayer for trafficked people and offering a creative response space. I was involved in some songwriting with Moira Hannan (now Baxter). This was inspired by articles I had been reading on STOP THE TRAFFIKS website.
Work Hard, Party Harder at whose expense?
Work Hard Part Harder
is the new Diesel motto on their shop window in Glasgow. In many ways it sums up what people’s attitude towards life is. Recently I talked with a friend about themes in some pop music we agreed the trend of living for now or the weekend, short term, experiential party lifestyle ideology.
This too is portrayed in this motto. Live for you, live for yourself, have fun but I ask at whose expense becuase whilst it is perhaps our money that buys these luxuries such as Diesel Jeans someone else is paying. That may be a child in a factory in India aged 9, working 50 hours a week for less than 20p a day or perhaps a Chinese woman in a factory or maybe it is a cotton farmer unfairly paid, or a child trafficked into forced labour. Without the fairtrade stamp it is very difficult to know or be sure who is paying and what they are paying so that we can party as Diesel suggest we should in their fashionable attire.
Let me suggest a few things this Christmas:
1) Campaign for companies like Diesel to become fairtrade
2) Choose ethical alternatives (Debenhams, marks and Spencers and others now stock fairly traded products)
3) Second hand clothes - ebay or a charity shop.
Dont let someone else pay!
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/take_a_step_in_2012.aspx
Enough is Enough!
Today I read an article posted by Stop the Traffik on twitter. They take this story from the bbc. Read here
Is the sentence given to the traffickers enough? My first thoughts on this article were, is that all they are getting? As I read on I began to think about the hope that is communicated through this story.Stories like this speak to me of hope. When you consider the overwhelming reality of human trafficking it is easy to lose hope and feel like there is nothing that can be done. However when you hear or read stories like this hope is reborn in us.
#Hope I think one way we experience hope is when we see fragments of good or of justice. In this case this story of justice communicates that things can change, there is something that can be done about human trafficking.
