Year 11 Stratford Girls' Grammar School Student Sinead McCall's passionate words on the subject of Human Trafficking won over the hearts of the judges at the  Soroptimist Midland Arden Region Public Speaking Competition to award her first place. Sinead fought off stiff competition from ten other young speakers from schools across the region at the event held at Rugby's Council Chamber on March 17th.

Speakers were invited to choose from a list of challenging topical subjects and then invited to prepare a speech lasting four minutes. Sinead chose ' Human Trafficking- Modern Slavery. How Can We Stop It?' When asked what interested her about this subject she went on to explain,  "I wanted to learn more about this issue. It's something I only knew a little about from the headlines. Once I got digging I was horrified to discover the extent of this problem world wide."

Sinead's four minute speech was delivered in the grand setting of Rugby's Council Chamber giving her an authentic platform from which to address the gathered audience and judges. The unanimous decision of judges Bernadette St Aubyn, Jasvinder Kandula and Leigh Hunt  was met with warm applause as the Year 11 Stratford Girls' Grammar School student collected a splendid trophy and book tokens to reward her efforts. She was praised for her confident delivery, level of research and passion.

Ever modest, Sinead commented, "It came as a real surprise to win. This has been an unforgettable experience and I'm so pleased to have had the opportunity to take part."

 

 

An precis of the speech given by Sinead:

Imagine waking up on a tattered sofa, freezing and malnourished, in a rat-infested shed. Sleeping next to a horse trough that you will wash yourself in. Imagine working 15 hour days, seven days a week, only getting two days off in thirteen years. Imagine your brother finding you, and when he urges you to leave, you tell him “I can’t – they’re watching me”.

How long ago do you think this was? Something from 1814, 1914, perhaps? Sadly not. This story takes place less than a century ago, less than a decade ago. This is the story of 44 year-old Englishman Darrell Simister, who was a subject of Human Trafficking on a welsh farm in 2014.

Human Trafficking, despite its secretive nature, is fabricated into the world around us. Into our clothes we buy from Primark, into our food picked from our fields, into our everyday lives. Our need for instant gratification has a price to pay. That price is forced, exploited labour.

Forget the euphemistic term of ‘Human Trafficking’. This is modern slavery.

And the ignorance of it is costing people their lives. Pretending an issue is non-existent doesn’t cause it to be defeated – spreading awareness does.

So, allow me to spread awareness, about why it continues to be ignored, and what we can do to fight it.

So, the solution is… social media, right? It seems like the solution to most of my problems! Scroll, down, like a post, send a tweet. Passively sharing information will be enough, won’t it?

Of course not. Sending one tweet doesn’t undo the many lies and misconceptions shared by large media companies. Even reputed ones, such as the BBC, are guilty of doing this.

Thus, we need to open up the conversation about it. Accept that it exists, and help the victims lead normal lives. Slavery was abolished through spreading awareness. It can be defeated again.

So, here are three simple steps that you can do to help fight Human Trafficking.

One. Accept that you, all of you, feel disconnected from the victims. Darrell Simister is not an untouchable, he is not lower class, he is a human being. With acceptance and awareness, it will be abolished again.

Two. Accept that you, all of you, are fuelling the trafficking market, by buying your shiny new iPhone 10, or buying a KitKat to satisfy your craving. Instead, satisfy your craving for justice, by using change.org. Any petition, with over 100,000 signatures, must be looked at by the government. With acceptance and awareness, it will be abolished again.

Three. Go into your community and do something about it. Movements begin when people are pushed and motivated by a cause that is greater than themselves. 25 million people are being stripped of their Human Rights. Is that enough of a motivation for you? Donate to a charity, such as Unseen UK, or support the work of organisations, such as Soroptimist International. With acceptance awareness, it will be abolished again.

In order to help the vulnerable, in order to help the helpless, in order to help the victims, we must accept the truth about Human Trafficking. We must accept that Human Trafficking is modern slavery. Thank you.