Three months after winning Anti-Slavery's annual Award, we caught up with CIW and asked them some questions about their work since November and their current campaigns.

What difference is the Award likely to make to the work you do and to the people you work with?
The Award has made it possible to reach tens of thousands more consumers in Europe and other overseas countries, greatly expanding the awareness of our Campaign for Fair Food globally. We have also learnt much more about the British struggle two hundred years ago to abolish the slave trade and we draw lessons from the strategies used during that historic consumer movement, which can be used in our fight to end modern-day slavery. The next major action in our campaign will pay homage to that proud history.

In November you launched your campaign against Burger King with a march in Florida. How did Burger King and the general public respond to that?
It's been extraordinary - consumers all over the country have demanded that Burger King do the right thing. For example, over 30,000 people participated in an email action letter to Burger King led by Oxfam America. US Senator Bernie Sanders has recently called for hearings, "so that the American people can understand how slavery can take place in the year 2008." So far Burger King have continued to be evasive however.

People in Britain may claim that here there is no evidence of produce in Burger King burgers being made under forced labour conditions, so this campaign is not relevant in the UK. What would you say to them?
The campaign is absolutely relevant in the UK, one of the key centres of the fair trade movement. When we eat, we participate in the global food industry, and decisions made by transnational corporations affect consumers regardless of national borders.

The US-based multi-national food corporations look to Europe as a key market for continued growth. The message must be sent, loud and clear, that growth here will only be possible if these companies make a commitment to end farm worker poverty and eliminate modern-day slavery in the fields.

In December The Independent ran a front page investigation on the latest slavery investigation in Florida's fields. Has media attention in the UK aided your campaign in the US?
Media attention in the UK has certainly helped our campaign in the US. The fast-food giants have been expanding overseas markets, and they now know European consumers are aware of the campaign. In today's interconnected world, awareness-raising has to be international, since the corporate branding, marketing, and public relations campaigns are certainly global.

What in your experience are some of the longer term impacts both mentally and physically of the kind of exploitation some farm workers are subjected to?
It's hard to imagine what workers go through, even after they have escaped. One witness, a victim of a pistol-whipping, told us that he was still having nightmares two years after the attack. Another spoke of recurrent dreams of the boss coming after him with a machete. Workers describe the change from forced labour to freedom as "coming out of the darkness into the light" or "being re-born."

How do people resist their oppression and enslavement in the fields - are there particular acts of resistance that stand out?
One way, is speaking out in front of the employers. One man told his co-workers that it was against the law to be held in forced labor in the US. He was beaten and shot at by his employers, but his message was heard. It actually gave others the courage to run away from this labor camp in the middle of the night, despite speaking no English and not knowing where to go. Eventually the workers testified against their former employers, who are now held in federal prison.

Escape itself is another way of resisting. Workers have dug their way out of trucks, walked for miles across swamps, arranged getaway cars within eyeshot of the labor camp - and their boss! Resistance is also the act of testifying in court. Some former workers have chosen to speak out in public, march 230 miles across Florida or participate in a 10-day hunger strike, seeking justice for others as well as for themselves.

As for lessons we can learn, success was the product of two key forces. One was direct action by enslaved people on the ground through local revolts and national rebellions. The other was political action by consumers. Today, the combination of direct action by workers themselves, together with consumer and political action is still key to success. Although the two forms of slavery are incomparable in terms of exploitation and brutality, just as the early British abolitionists drew inspiration from the tens of thousands of enslaved Africans who bravely refused to accept their enslavement, today's consumers also draw energy and inspiration from the farm worker community leading the campaign for justice.

Finally, how can Anti-Slavery International best continue to support your work?
Together, as workers and consumers, we can demand that companies work with the CIW to eliminate exploitative conditions and forced labour in the fields. The working model already exists and there's no excuse for corporations not to sign up to it.

Anti-Slavery International and its supporters can spread the word in the UK and Europe about the campaign and the conditions of workers. Farm-based slavery is preventable. They should let consumers know about actions they can take to hold corporations accountable for their practice.

winter 2008
Voice from the field

On a recent trip to Niger, Romana Cacchioli, Anti-Slavery International's Africa Programme Co-ordinator, interviewed Haoulata, a 19 year old woman who was born a slave like her mother and grandmother before her.

With the support of Anti-Slavery International and Timidria, Haoulata was able to bring her case to court and in November 2006 achieved the first successful prosecution in Niger under the new slavery law. Her master served a one year prison sentence and was ordered to pay £100 compensation to her.

RC: Haoulata, can you tell me a little about yourself and how you came to be enslaved.
Haoulata: I was born in a nomadic encampment in the district of Abalak, Niger. We belonged to Seidimou Hiyar and his younger brother, who owned many other slaves besides my parents and me.

RC: What was life like for you with Seidimou?
Haoulata: Since I was very young, I had to do everything Seidimou asked. He was my master and his wife, my mistress. I looked after the sheep and goats making sure none got lost and as I got older I did more chores like fetching water and firewood. Soon I was doing everything, especially pounding millet and preparing meals. I looked after the children and the tent and everything else that needed to be done.

RC: How did Seidimou treat you?
Haoulata He is a violent man. If my chores weren't done as he liked or if I took too long at the well, he would curse and beat me, saying that I was nothing but a stupid slave. I was always scared of him. Things got really bad when I met my husband Alinsar, who was also a slave and lived next to us.

Seidimou did not want us to live together. He refused to let me stay with Alinsar, so we could only see each other at night. Alinsar hated the way Seidimou treated me and tried to convince me that we should run away, just like my parents did ten years ago. But I was scared of what Seidimou would do.

RC: You and Alinsar did eventually runaway, what happened to change your mind?
Haoulata: In 2005 the rains did not come and Seidimou lost all his animals. He was left with nothing so we joined his younger brother's encampment where I looked after his family as well. His violence towards me got worse until one day he went crazy and beat me all over my body, then destroyed everything in my tent. That night Alinsar said we had to run. He convinced me that life wouldn't get any better, and that if we stayed our son would suffer too. Then I realised we had no choice but to leave.

RC: Where did you go?
Haoulata: Alinsar said we should go straight to Timidria, that they would know what to do. So that night, when everyone was asleep, we crept away. It was very hard, I couldn't walk very fast as I had cuts and bruises everywhere. We walked for three days before arriving in Abalak, where Timidria is. I was really scared but Alinsar and my little boy gave me courage.

By the time we got there my wounds were infected and I was very sick and weak. Timidria gave us food and shelter and took me to the medical centre to be treated. When I felt better, they asked if we wanted to take action against Seidimou. We said we did, and they took us to see the judge.

At first I was scared to talk to the judge, but he was very nice and asked lots of questions. I was so happy when he found Seidimou guilty.

RC: How is life now?
Haoulata: I can't explain what it means to me to be free. Timidria helped us settle here in Abalak. They gave us some goats and some money which I used to buy wood. Now I sell wood here in the market. Life is still hard, we just about make ends meet, but we no longer take orders from anyone. The best thing, is that my son will never have to suffer in the same way I did.