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An exhibit of photographs exposing the plight of Africa's trafficked
children is opening in London on Thursday 6 June, 7.00pm. The images
in Human Traffic, taken by 2002 World Press Award winner
Mike Sheil, drew world attention to this growing slave trade.
Mike Sheil and Rose McCausland of Anti-Slavery International, the
world's oldest international human rights organisation, travelled
to Benin and Gabon in March 2001 to photograph children trafficked
in West Africa. Sheil's candid and powerful images gained international
exposure when news of children being carried into slavery onboard
the Etireno captured the world's attention.
The images reveal the lives of children trafficked in West and
Central Africa and the conditions they suffer. Tens of thousands
of children as young as five years old, are trafficked for work
in the region each year. Forced into brutal conditions, they
are denied freedom and education. They are forced into a range of
exploitative work as domestics, water sellers, on market stalls
and in some cases as prostitutes.
Included is Sheil's Award-winning image of a girl selling water
in a Benin market. The picture depicts the vulnerability and subservient
position of these children. Like so many trafficked girls selling
in Benin's markets, the girl will be beaten if she does not meet
her daily quota. Many miles from their families, and with no earnings,
the girls are totally dependent on their 'employers'. Physical and
mental abuse force them into a state of submission. Many lose hope
of ever returning home.
Trafficking is a global problem affecting women, children and men
around the world. This exhibition lifts the lid on one of the most
shocking human rights abuses in today's world. The exhibition closes
on 17 June and will then tour the UK and the US.
Location: Global Cafe, Golden Square, Soho, London, WC1
Opening night date & time: Thursday 6 June 2002, 7.00pm until
10.30pm
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