By Alona Aguila and Jane Goh

Human trafficking is the trade of humans, such as forced labour, sexual slavery, commercial sexual exploitation and removal of organs. The Blue Heart Campaign against Human Trafficking, initiated by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), aims to raise awareness of trafficking in persons (TIP), the plight of victims, and to fight this shameful global crime against human dignity. The Campaign’s Blue Heart symbolizes sadness and reminds us of the cold-heartedness of traffickers.

At Good Shepherd Centre, we introduced Blue Heart Campaign to the residents in 2 sessions. In the first session, we tuned in with a round table discussion on human trafficking, including examples of trafficking.  A few residents shared true stories they personally knew. After a role play and seeing some pictures of likely traffickers, residents shared their thoughts and feelings about the victims of sexual trafficking; descriptions such as “scared”, “dangerous” and “crimes” were used. At the second session we showed two videos on organ trafficking to give a deeper understanding of human trafficking.  During discussions which followed, residents clarified their understanding of TIP and their negative impact on society. They agreed to raise awareness to this global problem.

The residents wrote or drew on blue heart shaped cards, their commitment to help victims of TIP in their own way, some of which were prayers, reaching-out, sending positive energy through drawing colorful hearts.  On the floor, we formed a big heart with a blue cloth and candles surrounding it, symbolizing healing for the victims and survivors of trafficking. The residents were invited to put their right hands on the cloth as a pledge to carry the awareness of TIP to others, that they will share what they have learned in the sessions in their home countries and spread awareness through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.   

As a finale, we gathered to sing, “One Woman”, an excerpt of which:-

“We are one woman, you cry and I hear you

We are one woman your hopes are mine

And we shall shine

We are one woman your courage keeps me strong

We are one woman your dreams are mine and we shall shine.”