A man dreaming of a quiet retirement.

I just got back from sitting with a man called Jeff, while he showed me pictures of the home he’d been building for his retirement. Jeff is grey, and thin, but there is an assurance in his manner, which somehow reflects the experience of a man used to being in control. He had his computer on an ordinary desk next to his kitchen. While he carefully made us tea, we watched the snow outside...

Trust

She had invited us through the front of the Thai massage parlour, into the back area where the women wait, watch TV and get ready. We sat there listening as she poured out her anger and frustration.  It struck me once again how the normal face of exploitation is boredom and exhaustion, punctuated by violence and fear. It was an ordinary living room, sofas, chairs, cigarette smoke, a...

An SMS for help, half way across the world.

An email landed in my inbox through our campaign "Business Travellers against Human Traffiking". It was from a man in Indonesia, begging for help. His friend had been in debt, which she couldn't pay off. As she couldn't pay, she was being forced to go with traffickers, who said they were taking her to Iraq. She had managed to sms her friend that she was being taken to the plane at 5pm that...

From the street to the classroom

Behind the Gare du Nord in Brussels, there is long street of windows with women in prostitution posing all day. They try not to look bored, but they must be. It's an odd sight, shoppers with children hurrying along a street with women in the windows, and a steady stream of men from the railway station looking for quick sex. That street is the start of the Brussels red light district and...

Isolated, excluded and illegal, what would you do?

When we heard they had her in the detention cells, Rach and I set out to see what we could do. Jane (not her real name) was a part of the church we were leading at the time in south London. A tiny, fine boned, but wonderfully self-reliant African lady from Ghana, we couldn't imagine what the police could want to keep her locked up for. She was being kept at a police station in north London,...

Politicians who love blood chocolate

A few years ago, at the start of the Stop the Traffik chocolate campaign, we were excited to be invited to the UK parliament to discuss the fact that thousands of children were (and are) being trafficked and exploited on the cocoa fields of Ivory Coast. We were invited to a meeting of the Cross Party Committee on Chocolate and Confectionary, no less. With jobs like that, it's a wonder that...

Dubai, the city where everything's for sale.

The text came through on my phone "I'm at the Cyclone, it's like the United Nations of prostitution." It was from a journalist friend who had gone to Dubai to investigate whether women were being trafficked into sexual explotation in that most commercial of gulf states. The fact is that thousands of women are being trafficked and can be found even in the lobbies of many of the five star...

Why education can Stop the Traffik

We were in a building site in Mumbai, squatted down, talking with a thin, defeated looking Indian man called Balraam. It was hot and dusty and we were tired from the day at the drop-in centre we worked in as part of Oasis India. Traffic thundered past as the city headed home. Behind Balraam was his home, a make-shift shack in amongst the construction. Ajay, my colleague, an amazing, tireless...

A coffin, a harmonica and a big bass drum

It was a dull, rainy day in Antwerp, and the police had got there before us. When we arrived for the start of the march, there were two police riot vans waiting. This made us smile, firstly because we didn't know how many supporters would come, and secondly because there is almost nothing as mild mannered and polite as Oasis Belgium - we'd much rather make you a cup of tea than shout at...

The business of trafficking.

If you've ever visited Mumbai as a tourist, you'll probably have been to Colaba. It's where you can see the gateway of India, and where the famous Taj Hotel is. The Taj is a wonderful old building, where the rich and famous stay whilst in Mumbai and has boasted many world leaders, kings and Bollywood stars amongst its guests. Sadly it became briefly famous last year as the scene of a terrorist...

Hidden just down the street

We had to search amongst the usual mass of intercom buttons to find the right one. It was an ordinary house in an ordinary street, yet it was also the first Thai massage parlour we had ever visited, despite months of research. We rang the bell and waited. At first nothing, then the door swung open to show a man. He wasn't tall, but made up for it in weight and muscle. He was covered in tattoos...

Mail Order Bride

A few years ago I was on a plane, flying to Kiev. I'm not a very good flyer, so I tend to try to keep my eyes on everything that happens, just in case I spot something that might go wrong. I'm not sure what I would do if I saw something, but I keep watch anyway. The flight to Ukraine was interesting, largely due to the copious amounts of vodka that was being knocked back right from the start,...