Modern day abolitionists are on the frontline in our battle to end slavery, but they can often face anger, violence and even time in prison for their activism. Take a stand against this injustice and campaign in solidarity with those that are being persecuted for fighting for freedom. Read the stories of some of these brave anti slavery activists below.
Biram Dah Abeid
In 2014, Biram Dah Abeid and several of his colleagues were imprisoned for standing against slavery in Mauritania. In response, we launched a global campaign to force the Mauritanian government to free Biram. Our petition was signed by 203,000 supporters and was accompanied by almost 5,000 phone calls to Mauritanian Embassies and 13,000 messages to Members of Parliament.
Biram was freed after 18 months in prison along with most of his colleagues. In December 2016, our team shared with Biram a book of supportive and hopeful messages from our community. Watch Biram’s own message of hope.
Andy Hall
Andy Hall has been convicted in Thailand for reporting on labor rights abuses in the Thai pineapple industry. After Andy’s research was published in 2013, he was brought to court on charges of computer crimes and criminal defamation. In 2016, he was found guilty and sentenced to a three-year suspended sentence and a large fine.
Despite the Thai court ruling, we continue to work with our partners to clear Andy’s name. Watch the videos to meet Andy and to see our supporters’ thank you for his tireless efforts fighting modern slavery.
This is about persecution. It’s a political case to try and silence me… I’m someone that’s revealing things that the government and the industry don’t want me to reveal.
Roja Limbu and Sushila Rana
There are an estimated 250,000 migrant domestic workers in Lebanon who are excluded from national labor laws making them extremely vulnerable to domestic slavery. Activists Roja Limbu and Sushila Rana have been advocating for domestic worker rights in a country that has criminalized attempts by migrant workers to voice concerns.
In late 2016, the Lebanese Government detained Sushila and Roja for their work, forcibly deporting Sushila to Nepal and imprisoning Roja without access to legal representation. To bring light to this injustice, we launched a petition requesting that Roja be freed. In February 2017, however, Roja was also deported to Nepal without any warning. We continue to monitor the situation and will keep you informed when we can take action.
SOURCES
- http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/10-mauritanian-anti-slavery-activists-win-freedom-143823243
- http://unpo.org/article/19295
- https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/thailand2015.pdf
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAvXe6TjdPE
- http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/tip2015statements.html
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/13/lebanon-deports-domestic-worker-rights-organizer
- http://idwfed.org/en/updates/global-idwf-is-deeply-saddened-and-outraged-by-the-recent-detention-of-two-nepali-domestic-workers-in-Lebanon
- http://idwfed.org/en/updates/global-idwf-is-deeply-saddened-and-outraged-by-the-recent-detention-of-two-nepali-domestic-workers-in-Lebanon
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/13/lebanon-deports-domestic-worker-rights-organizer
Malokhat Eshonkulova
Malokhat is a journalist and human rights activist who works to expose human rights abuses and instances of forced labor in the government-run cotton fields in Uzbekistan. In November 2017, Malokhat’s property was raided by Uzbek authorities and some of her possessions confiscated. Two legal proceedings are being initiated against her by the Uzbek authorities in order to silence her, and in December she was detained at Tashkent airport and informed that she would not be allowed to leave the country until her legal fees are paid in full.
Our supporters generously donated US$1675 to go towards Malokhat’s legal defence fees, and our community is campaigning for her to be able to safely continue her valuable work documenting and exposing forced labor in the Uzbek cotton harvest.