Tony Blair Faith Foundation

The videoconference was an amazing experience. There were many excellent points raised that I had not previously considered and it was so great to see these ideas came from all over the world. 

The questions were both challenging and intelligent, touching on every area of human trafficking. Their questions included challenges on government and global responsibility, what we as the public can do, issues of social media, buying power and how would raising awareness directly affect trafficking. It seemed that the students had really prepared for the conference, as they challenged all the most difficult aspects in the fight against human trafficking. 

One of the points that someone made was about what the student called, the “Vox Populi”. I outlined how one of the aims of our project is to speak for people who feel they cannot speak, or to give them the means to speak through a lens. The student’s point showed not only that he  really understood this concept, but also that he wanted to give a voice to those without.  Another few very powerful points included how we do not necessarily have to know someone who was trafficked in order for us to recognise the seriousness of the problem and that treating the crime as a statistic rather than recognising the humanity of each survivor, is riddled with problems. 

One of the most interesting parts of the conference were the views on religion and how the participants’ different religions, viewed human trafficking. Several great points from the students were raised on this, including all human beings are created equal; killing one person is equal to killing humanity and the human being is precious above all else. Alongside these ideas, I raised the idea that we must treat the stranger with kindness. These ideas hold true across religions, and this is what can unite faiths, and indeed general humanity, in fighting human trafficking. 

I hope that the conference lead the students to believe that they can do something to stop human trafficking by simply telling people about the crime, buying fair-trade, being kind to the newcomer, and much more. The greatest idea I learned from the conference was that no matter where we are in the world, or what our faith, race, age or gender we all want to tackle human trafficking together. It seemed to me that there was no need for anyone to fear standing alone in the face of this crime, as we, the global community, will be standing there with them. 

Talia Miriam Chain obtained her  BA in Classics at University College London, a degree which she feels provides an essential foundation in the origins of the human right to freedom. Talia’s other passion is ethical fashion which lead her to set up the social enterprise, House of Beth. Talia, through founding the campaign Red Light Campaign, hopes to address the issue of human trafficking and modern day slavery through the potent medium of photography and fashion. Talia is a practicing Jew and has worked as a Youth Leader in her community where she ran programmes and chaired committees. She has also worked on the Overseas Projects Team for Tzedek two months of which she spent in Ghana. Outside of University she has studied Economics with Justice at the London School of Economic Sciences and interned in the Home Office, shadowing the Minister of State for Criminal Justice and Policing. She has also graduated as an Undergraduate Parliamentor from the Three Faiths Forum.