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There is just one year to go before the world marks 200 years since
Britain abolished the slave trade. To start the countdown to 25
March 2007, Anti-Slavery International is launching four
e-cards
to help the public harness the abolitionist spirit to end slavery
today.
Each e-card -- available
at
www.antislavery.org/2007 from Friday 24 March -- offers a quick and easy way to alert friends
and family to the plight of millions of people in slavery today.
Follow the links in the cards to: Sign
the Fight for Freedom Declaration calling for an end to slavery
and action on the Transatlantic Slave Trade's legacy; Write
to MPs urging action; and Join
Anti-Slavery International's Fight for Freedom 1807-2007 campaign.
The four new 'what is my story?' e-cards reveal slavery past and
present:
- Slave trade: Captured slaves were tied together and
marched to the West African coast. Millions were shipped to Europe's
colonies as slave labour;
- Abolitionist past: Former slave Olaudah Equiano campaigned
for an end to the slave trade from the 1780s. His first-hand account
changed the British public's view of slavery;
- Child domestic: Today, over 170,000 children as young as five
in Haiti are sent to work in households far from home. They are
forced to work long hours, often for little or no pay, are kept
in harsh conditions and denied education;
- Modern-day abolitionist: Cecilia Flores-Oebanda works
to secure the rights of hundreds of thousands of child domestics
who work in the Philippines.
"Two hundred years ago, the public rallied together against
the slave trade, successfully challenging what was an accepted norm.
Today, with the advantages of the Internet and other forms of mass
communication, people can achieve even more -- the end of slavery
once and for all," David Ould, Director of Anti-Slavery
International said.
Anti-Slavery International's campaign, the Fight
for Freedom 1807-2007, commemorates the achievement of the coalition
that formed against the Transatlantic Slave Trade and calls for
action to end slavery today.
For information on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and for teaching materials, see Breaking the
Silence. |
