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Slavery near you

16/11/2018

On the 15th November a meeting was held at the Ridgeway Centre in Wolverton. This was arranged by the BFWI Science and Society sub-committee and chaired by Thelma Sackman. We listened to the facts and figures behind the problem of modern day slavery from Dr Akilah Jardine who is involved with Rights Lab. Research at Nottingham University. This organisation is working to help to end slavery which involves 40 million people worldwide. The first thing she wanted us to realise was that trafficking on which the media likes to concentrate is only a means of establishing the state of slavery for about 10% of slave victims. To be a slave is to be treated as an object which belongs to someone and can be bought or sold without a right to food, shelter or feelings: everything has been taken from that person. Slavery is big business across the world but all the finances go back into the criminal world not into a country’s economic status. The centre in Nottingham is using expertise from all areas of study at the university in conjunction with government departments and the United Nations to explore the very nature of the world of slavery and what can be done to stop it and to support the victims who can be of either sex and of any age.
April McCoig and Victoria Butler from Thames Valley Police gave us the local statistics: 2500 slaves in their area, around 12,000 nationally of which only 289 cases had come to court. Slaves might be forced into street crime, benefit fraud or drug running. They could be providing unpaid labour in factories, on building sites or in the fields. There were many in domestic servitude---they are the hardest to spot---and of course sexual exploitation is rife. The officers encouraged everyone to be vigilant and to ask themselves why articles or services could be so cheap and to report anything that didn’t look right.
An account of the work of the Salvation Army followed. It provides accommodation, psychological and physical support to victims and undertakes to transport people to safe houses and gives positive help in starting a new life. Reverend Tim Norwood spoke of the work of the Clewer Initiative “We see you” which provides materials for schools to help them to recognise the dangers of being co-erced into acts of crime.
Liz Gough then described some of the work that she and her husband had been doing in Greece with victims trafficked to the beaches and across Europe lured by the prospect of jobs and a better life. They are then beaten into submission and made completely dependent on their slave masters by emotional manipulation and fear of repercussions for their families back home.
There followed a table activity on what we thought the WI could do about the information which we had heard and we were promised that some of the ideas thrown up would be considered for action.
An informative but depressing afternoon was experienced by all. Man’s inhumanity to Man never ceases to appal. However, we were glad to have attended and promised to spread the word.

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Year End

16/11/2018

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Our WI’s Annual Meeting was an enjoyable occasion because we were reminded of a very successful year both financially and socially. We elected a new President and are fairly confident that we have the other two necessary officers. The jazz evening had made a good profit to split between the WI and Mind Buckinghamshire. The outing to Birmingham Christmas Markets was fully booked. The poppy wreath made by members was admired and will be carried with pride in the Remembrance Day parade. Next year’s programme is ready for printing and promises some good speakers and activities.
The Book Group read “The Boleyn Inheritance” by Philippa Gregory which was enjoyed by more than half of the members. We agreed that the novel needed to be read as fiction first rather than as an historical narrative. The trouble is we have some history buffs among us who find things to question in the telling of the story so perhaps we will give this genre a miss for a while. Our latest requests for sets from the County Library have all been rejected as the books are fully booked for months ahead so it is back to the drawing board with the list. Our group has been going for about 15 years so it is not surprising that we are beginning to find that we have read an awful lot of the titles in stock.
The Fashion Show staged at the AVDC Gatehouse, Aylesbury was well attended and the models from our BFWI Board of Trustees performed very professionally. The clothes were provided by shops in towns across Bucks and they were featured in a wide range of sizes to suit normal people who are not as thin as twigs! I am sure many ladies present were thinking that they would like to wear a pair of trousers or a dress like those on display.

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