Artists urge Guggenheim boycott

From Al Jazeera:

Artists say construction workers at Abu Dhabi landmark art museum are being exploited.




While there is no explicit mention of human trafficking, the precarious conditions (i.e. substandard housing, confiscated passports) some of these workers are facing should merit an investigation. In a press release last month, the Guggenheim stated that there will be some independent monitoring mechanisms in place, although did not say how they would be conducted and by whom. Given that in this statement, they have committed to ensuring these abuses don't take place and then it was discovered through this investigation that 1,400 workers are still living under separate conditions, it might be time to start putting more action behind their words.

This is also not a new issue. The protests were sparked by a report by Human Rights Watch from May 2009. The museum is set to open in 2013.

Music and Pimp Culture

By Rachel Lloyd:

Recently, Jay-Z, the man who created an anthem which shamelessly glorified pimp culture, "Big Pimpin", acknowledged his own conflicted feelings about that song to the Wall Street Journal. "It was like, I can't believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing? Reading it is really harsh," said the rapper. Yeah, listening to it come on in a club and see the entire crowd go wild and singing along has been really harsh too Jay.

Full disclosure, I'm a Jay-Z fan and I have been since his first album Reasonable Doubt. Yet as a survivor of the commercial sex industry and as an advocate for exploited and trafficked girls it's hard to not feel some shame for liking an artist who has contributed his fair share of misogynistic lyrics and who has helped equate the concept of pimping with masculinity and 'swagga.'

I'm not alone with these conflicted feelings about Jay-Z or hip-hop in general. For those of us who grew up listening to Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash, Eric B, and Rakim Mc Lyte and Queen Latifah and who felt that rap told our stories and captured our hearts in a way that nothing else did, hip-hop has been part of the soundtrack of our generation. Yet for those of us, particularly women, who have been impacted by gender-based violence, who've experienced the venom behind the words 'bitch' and 'ho' and who are disgusted by the objectification and sexualization of women and girls in this medium, loving hip-hop presents an uncomfortable contradiction.

For me, the conflicted feelings run deep. For the last 13 years, I've worked with and fought for girls and young women who've experienced violence and oppression at the hands of pimps and johns. And I know first-hand what its like to dance on the stage of a stripclub, be leered over by strange men, and break my 'daddy' off some bread. In short, I've been one of the girls that are alternately scorned and objectified in the lyrics of many rap songs.

Read Rachel Lloyd's full article here.

Rachel Lloyd is the founder of GEMS.

*****************************

Rachel Lloyd's piece raises a number of important points and questions, most without easy answers. Creating a world without sex trafficking or any form of slavery will take more than laws, arrests, prosecutions, and victim services. It will take evaluating the root causes and the ways that we are complicit, as individuals and as societies, in a world that tolerates and even promotes slavery. As Lloyd notes, that includes examining the "glorification of pimp culture" in music, art, and film.

Lloyd goes on to write, "I don't know how much Jay-Z understands the realities of pimps and the harm that's done to girls and young women every day in this country by pimps and traffickers. I don't know how much he feels that he's played some role in the acceptance and glorification of pimping within our culture and how committed he is to perhaps trying to take responsibility for that. But his acknowledgment that he feels a level of shame about this song is a start towards having a balanced conversation about hip-hop's role in this issue."

Obviously this is a two-way street, and as music consumers we bear some responsibility for supporting songs that glamorize pimps and that objectify women and girls. Still, like Lloyd I would argue that if established artists and musicians began the learning about the realities of trafficking and start self-reflecting on their roles and actions, both positive and negative, we will have a strong first step.

Voices of Human Trafficking

From UN GIFT:

Voices of Human Trafficking -a film by Eveline van Dijck- These women want to state that they are not voiceless victims, but survivors of an horrendous crime who are capable and willing to put their experiences to use. They want to make clear that in order yo have effective antitrafficking strategies victims need be involved in designing and reviewing policy in an integrated and ongoing way. For more information visit: http://www.blinn.nl/



This documentary features images from Kay Chernush's series "Bought and Sold: Voices of Human Trafficking." Chernush states, "As I move into multi-media and explore different ways of raising awareness, I think it's a good example of how photography and art can be used to transform perceptions of human trafficking -- perceptions of the survivors of themselves, and also of public and political entities."

Listen to Me - Stories from marginalised children around the world

EveryChild and Save the Children UK, have collaborated with iceandfire to stage a new play based on real testimonies of vulnerable children around the world.

20 years on from the creation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Listen to Me tells the stories of children living on the streets, fleeing conflict, trapped in bonded labour and growing up in abusive households and will explore whether children have seen an improvement in their lives.

The play was performed for an invited audience of children's rights experts, charities, opinion formers and decision makers at the prestigious Unicorn Theatre, the UKs flagship theatre for young people in London, on 16 November.

EVENT: Trafficking talk in New York

December 10th at 7 PM
Soho20 Chelsea Gallery
547 West 27th Street, #301
New York, NY 10001

Cost: Free
For information and to RSVP call: (212) 367-8994

Photographer/artist Kay Chernush will be showing these and other images and talking about the moral and aesthetic challenges of photographing human trafficking.

In her own words:

I've worked with survivors in Paris, Rio, Belem, Torino and Amsterdam to create a non-documentary series of images that were recently exhibited in an open-air installation in The Hague, Netherlands. We are looking forward to a lively discussion about the moral and artistic challenges raised by this pressing global problem, and the intersection of art and social action.

Learn more about Kay Chernush

New Documentary on Trafficking to be Screened in New York City

I was first drawn to the film Fatal Promises by the outstanding outreach effort of Anneliese Rohrer, who contacted HTP about posting information about the film's upcoming screenings in New York City. Upon taking a look on the film's website, I noticed a host of familiar faces and stories from both Ukraine and New York State in the film's preview. Last night, I had the privilege of speaking with Kat Rohrer about the making and upcoming screening of Fatal Promises, which Kat directed. The film provides a "comprehensive look at the realities of human trafficking versus the rhetoric of politicians and pundits who claim to be making significant strides in combating this horrific crime against humanity." The title, according to Rohrer, represents the fatal promises made by traffickers to their victims and the seemingly empty promises made by the international community to stop the crime and assist victims.

The synopsis of the film does not exaggerate when it states that the film is comprehensive: it covers the crime as it exists in both sex and labor trafficking with the stories of both male and female victims, a defining reality of trafficking that is often overlooked. When asked about how this film will make its own unique mark in the anti-trafficking media and film, Ms. Rohrer referred to this aspect of the film, and of the film's additional focus on the "hypocrisy on every level in every country "often put forward by lawmakers who lack the political will to put pen to paper when it comes to drafting effective anti-trafficking laws.

This is Rohrer's first feature film, and is the culmination of over four years of research and collaborative efforts. Her inspiration from the film started from a New York Times article in 2005, and she decided to do something through film, her expertise. This was followed by fact-finding missions to Ukraine and other areas of Europe and around the United States where Rohrer interviewed victims, stakeholders and activists like Emma Thompson and Gloria Steinem. Rohrer even utilized tools like Google Alerts on "human trafficking" to receive news about upcoming events in the counter-trafficking field that helped her connect with activists in the US. Some of the activists and organization are now featured on the film's website (a great idea for other individuals looking for continuously updated news on human trafficking).

I was particularly moved by Rohrer's description of the interviews that she and her crew conducted with a victim by the name of Katja, who was victimized in a suburban US neighborhood and now speaks about her experiences on major news networks and even testified to Congress. Rohrer credits Katja for being instrumental to the creation of the film through her strength and courage to work with the crew and share her story.

Today (Sep. 15) kicks off a week of screenings in New York City at the School of the Visual Arts Theater. This will then be followed by a week of screenings at Cinema Village and trafficking related events including panel discussions featuring activists and NGO representatives. Rohrer continues to work closely with Emma Thompson and the unique art installation "Journey." We will hopefully be seeing the two unique media displays together in several cities around the US. Rohrer stated there are several follow-up actions being planned for after the NYC screenings, including the possibility of an amended film for the European market to include more information on the destination countries in Europe.

For individuals looking to get involved, the film's website offers numerous outlets for people who want to contribute to the cause. Some of them include:

Attend the screenings! All participants will receive tools to help them report trafficking and create awareness. TIckets for the Cinema Village screening can be purchased here.

Purchase handmade jewelry from Justice Juels. Proceeds will benefit Faith, Hope, Love, a victim services agency in Odessa, Ukraine. This is an organization from which Rohrer and the film's crew gained a lot of valuable insight and information. They provide comprehensive victim services, and their efforts have been recognized by multiple international organizations.

Listen to the new song by Felicia Alima featuring Chino called "Trade."

To receive regular updates on how you can get involved or attend related events, please sign up for their newsletter (Contact: fp@greenkatproductions.com) and Facebook page.

The preview at the beginning of the post was embedded from Kat Rohrer's blog and is also available on the website of Fatal Promises.

Meet Ellen Bruno, the Founder of Bruno Films

Ellen Bruno is the founder of Bruno Films who has produced many award winning documentary movies. In particular, her film, Sacrifice, deserves our attention as it exposes the child prostitution widespread on the border of Burma and Thailand.

THE SACRIFICE



About the movie:

The Sacrifice is a documentary movie based on the stories of a few Burmese girls caught up in the sex industry on the border of Thailand and Burma. Bruno shares that her intention is to bring viewers to recreate a state of mind in which information, impressions, memory and history have equal weight and are directed towards an emotional response.

Her Mission is to touch people in a visceral way and not overload people intellectually. True motivation, Bruno believes, comes from their hearts being touched. Bruno further states that her work is to stoke the fires a little.

On Her Inspiration:

Bruno once had a refugee from Thailand telling her stories of mundanely committed tragedies in developing countries in South Asia. Twenty years later, Bruno finds herself with a sense of calling to disclose such stories to westerners. Bruno added that film art is her way of sharing those stories with other Westerners to raise awareness in regard to what's happening in those countries.

The Challenges:

During the interview with the filmarts, Bruno reveals her challenging experience with Thai law enforcement:

Bruno and her translator talked their way into a Thai brothel where, through a translation errors, they were given permission to shoot materials for the film with a small camcorder. Bruno was ecstatic that footage of the girls actual working conditions inside a brothel, which had eluded her for weeks that it was hers for the taking. Then the owner of the brothel woke up, realized what was going on and called the police. the police asked Bruno to erase the video footage she had recorded, then hauled her and her translator to the local jail when she refused. After six more hours of interrogation, Bruno decided that she was putting her translator into jeopardy, and she agreed to erase the tape.

Her Passion for Justice:

But Bruno persists to go back to troubled, potentially dangerous circumstances because of her passion for community based work. Her work is based on the kind of empathy and familiarity with her subject that comes with years of friendship and common work. She refuses to focus on the new age notion of oneness because it can too easily stand in for exoticism. Rather, her mission is to touch people in a visceral way and not overload people intellectually. She further says,

True motivation comes from their hearts being touched. Unless you have motivation, nothing will happen. My job is to stoke the fires a little.

More information on the film:

Sacrifice as well as other works of Ellen Bruno are distributed on video by film library. For more information call (800) 343-5540 or visit her website www.brunofilms.com

Mule(s)

White vans
ditch border town—swerving
shepherds rushing west
in the desert dusk
where lightning glitters
like moths crowding
the moon, gagging
the dune
gust. Two girls per
cage—counting crucifixes
out the window,
the soul sections inscribed
across the border’s net
where a panorama
of cacti silhouette
slowly
like eyewitnesses
dodging a charge.

Newest Contributer to HTP!

My name is Gardner Mounce and I'm a creative writing and philosophy major at the University of Memphis. I first became interested in the subject of human trafficking when, like others, I began to research online and learned of human trafficking's global prevalence and, more recently, its local presence in Memphis. I immediately called together the members of the arts group I'm involved with (continuumarts.com) and began hosting a series of open mic benefits around the city to raise money and awareness. I have always been passionate about art and am a strong believer in its ability to unite people if beauty and truth are allowed to transcend it, especially in areas concerning human rights.

I hope to offer a new perspective to HTP that helps further enrich its terrific efforts. My posts will generally carry a photo and poem of mine, the photo reflecting some aspect of the poem. The poems will vary in their direct relation to human trafficking as a theme, and will likely explore subthemes such as childhood, lost innocence, human dignity, etc.

From the Paper Birds Theater Company:

I just wanted to take this opportunity to introduce The Paper Birds Theatre Company; an all female collective based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. This week the company will be bringing our award winning production 'In a Thousand Pieces' to The Soho Theatre, London where it will be performed Monday 4th - Saturday 16th May at 8.00pm.

The show, which explores the sex trafficking of Eastern European women using live original music, visual, physical and verbatim theatre was a total sell out at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2008.

Having won a Fringe First and Fringe Review Award,The Paper Birds went on to be shortlisted for The Stage's 'Best Ensemble', Total Theatre's 'Best Young Company' and The Amnesty International 'Expression of Freedom Award' 2008.

For more information please see http://www.thepaperbirds.com/ or contact the company at info@thepaperbirds.com

Tickets available from Soho Theatre box office on : 0207 4780100

All the best,
Jemma Mc Donnell
Artistic Director

The Paper Birds

Play Reading: The Girls from Afar

Artistic Director, Rehana Mirza
Producing Director, Rohi Mirza Pandya
Presents

THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons February 17 @ 6.30pm Teatro Circulo, 65 E. 4th Street, #11, New York, NY 10003

(New York, NY February 11, 2009) Desipina & Company (Desipina) is known for its ground-breaking work in bringing together diverse stories to one stage. Past Desipina productions have been hailed as “a grand celebration of storytelling, immigrant experiences, and cross-cultural pollination. What we have to learn from one another is just boundless; Desipina & Co. are doing a worthy thing tearing down some of the boundaries that exist between us and letting us laugh and cry together in the dark.” (NYTheatre.com).

In light of the economic meltdown and despite drastic arts funding cuts, Desipina is presenting a series of free readings of plays that speak to social issues and challenge perceptions. THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons (MFA Playwriting, Columbia University), tells the story of two girls who have come from afar to work as domestics in a wealthy home; but what seems at first to be a great opportunity becomes a lifestyle of brutality.

The second workshop presentation, SITA/SATI, by Snehal Desai, (MFA Theater, Yale University), tells the story of newly widowed Sita Desi, an immigrant from India, who joins a company of actors to challenge and skewer the stereotypical views of South Asians. However, along the way, the ritual of Sati (self-immolization) which at first is being presented as a lark, takes a dark turn as the crowd gets caught up in the frenzy of ritual and tradition and start calling on Sita to enter the fire and become an actual Sati.

There will be Talk Backs with Cast & Crew after Readings.

Desipina & Company is a 501(c) 3, not for profit fusion arts company that focuses on film and theater to promote the sharing and spreading of artistic, cultural, and political dialogues within and between communities. Desipina, as a term, is slang for describing a person of South Asian (desi) and Filipina (pina) descent, like the two founding sisters of Desipina, Rehana Mirza and Rohi Mirza Pandya. Together since 2000, these sisters and their supporters have brought a new, powerful voice to South Asian and Asian men, women, and children.

Tickets are FREE

For reservations, please email rsvp@desipina.org or for additional information, please visit us at www.desipina.org