Emma Thompson is not only a wonderful actress but also a fantastic story-teller and a communicator. Although this exhibit started back in 2007, I was inspired to hear that Emma has joined forces with various organisations and artists to raise awareness about human trafficking in London, Vienna and New York City.
Emma was already involved in the Helen Bamber Foundation and fighting for human rights when she started working with Human Trafficked victims. She met Elana, who was trafficked into the sex industry when she was 18. Elana, from Moldova, lived a normal and happy life until their money dried up when her father died. Working at the market she was then groomed by this woman who said she could get her a job in Great Britain. She was brought to the UK, told what she had to do, refused to do it and was put into solitary confinement for two weeks. Then they said they were going to hurt her family. So, she started to work. She was forced to sell her body to strangers - for money that she was not allowed to keep. She had never seen a naked man before....
As Emma got more involved she realized that trafficking wasn't just an international occurrence. She discovered it was local, happening at a massage parlor down the road and in our very communities. The aim of her project is to emphasize that prostitution in slavery and commercial sex is happening closer to home than many think -- sometimes literally around the corner.
Together, this amazing team of people have created a unique art installation - "Journey"- which uses seven transport containers, (because it's about moving people about), to illustrate the brutal and harrowing experiences of women sold into the sex trade. It was partly due to her conversations with Elena that Thompson was moved to take on this project. Each crate takes viewers through Elana’s story and a range of emotions that sex slaves feel throughout their journey, ranging from hope to desperation. Thompson hopes that the exhibit helps people understand the plight of those forced to work in human trafficking, which numbers about 2.5 million individuals at any one time, according to the International Labor Organization.
"I want people to know for five minutes — five minutes — what it's like," she said.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also hopes the installation raises awareness. "Isn't this something we should sweep under the rug?" he said. "I don't think so. Too many people are enslaved."
The aim of Journey is to show visitors the reality of human trafficking - a crime that happens every day, all around the world - and to encourage the public, politicians and especially consumers to take action.
Emma says “You can get involved, you can open your eyes, because this is something that is happening on the street and it might be right round the corner from you. So, it is time for the public to be involved, no one can close their eyes to this, just inform yourself and get active. As for lobbying, you can lobby any number of governments to actually do something about this. It's time for everybody to look at this and say the buying and selling of human beings for whatever reason is not appropriate in the 21st century and should never be allowed again.”
It’s a powerful account of how art can REALLY be used to raise awareness and change the world.
Below is a video of Emma talking about the project. You can also click here to listen to her tell Elana’s story (scroll to the bottom of the page).
Sources used:
http://nyunews.com/news/2009/nov/11/journey/
http://www.ungift.org/ungift/en/stories/journey.html
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2008-02-06-2.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/09/emma-thompsons-journey-ex_n_351624.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment