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Television's Hugh Quarshie got into the calypso mood yesterday
in the lead up to
Anti-Slavery International's annual Magic Ball, which will take
place at The Dorchester
hotel this Saturday, 13 November at 7.00pm. He was joined by carnival
dancers and the
2004 Anti-Slavery Award winner, Ilguilas Weila of Timidria, Niger's
pioneering anti-slavery organisation.
Hugh Quarshie is a regular attendant at the Ball along with a lengthy
list of celebrity supporters including Linford Christie, Chris Eubank,
John Conti, Richard Wilson and the Maharaja of Jodhpur. A long-time
supporter of Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest international
human rights organisation, Hugh comments: "As an African,
it shames me that slavery is still practised on our continent. But
I am proud that other Africans are leading the fight against it.
The Magic Ball is important because it raises money to stop to new
forms of slavery and increases awareness that slavery still exists".
Messages of support have flooded in from all over the world including
from Desmond Tutu, Leo Sayer, the Dalai Lama, Lady Caine and UK
Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Four hundred guests from all over London will be taken on a Calypso
themed journey starting off with a melodic performance from the
Southside steel band and culminating in an extravagant display of
the calypso dancing from the Mahogany carnival group. Mahogany's
costumes are up to 10 feet high and are inspired by the Trinidad
Carnival, one of the world's most magnificent celebrations. Calypso
can be traced back to the arrival of the first slaves in Trinidad,
brought to work on the sugar plantations.
Slavery affects millions of men, women and children around the
world. No region is free from this abuse. In the UK, hundreds of
women and children are trafficked into sexual exploitation each
year.
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