環(huán)球英語 1441 Blue Heart Against Slavery
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Marina Santee.
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And I’m Mike Procter. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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“Many people do not know about modern slavery. But there is also a lot of good will to fight it. The blue heart will teach people about a crime that shames us all. It shows our support of the victims.”
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Antonio Maria Costa is the leader of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In 2009, he shared these words about a new campaign: The Blue Heart Campaign. This movement teaches people about the problem of human trafficking and modern slavery. Today’s Spotlight is on the Blue Heart Campaign.
Around the world, every year more than two million people are sold as slaves. It is this problem that the Blue Heart Campaign addresses. The organizers chose the symbol of a Blue Heart. Blue is often the color of sadness. So the blue heart represents the sadness of the slaves. But it is also a cold color. So it also represents the cold heartedness of the owners - slave owners do not care for the well being of their slaves. The organizers hope that the blue heart will become an important symbol - just like the red AIDS ribbon. They want people to wear and share the symbol to show their support.
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The Blue Heart Campaign also shares the story of these slaves. By sharing information, Blue Heart hopes that more people will recognize the problem. It hopes that governments and individuals will work against this crime and protect the victims.
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The Campaign reports that more than 80 percent of slaves are girls and women. And more than 25 percent are children. Some slaves work in homes, caring for children and cleaning. Other slaves are forced to work in factories or on farms. This was the situation for Kevin and Peter. The Blue Heart Campaign shares their story.
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Kevin and Peter were young men. In their home country, they did not have jobs or homes. They lived on the street. A man named Edgar became friendly with Kevin and Peter. He gave them a building job, some food, and a place to live. Soon Edgar told Kevin and Peter that they could earn more money in a different country. They travelled with another young man named Jim. Jim was legally a child, only 17 years old. Edgar gave the three men false passports. He also organized their travel.
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But in the new country, things did not go well. The men worked at people’s homes doing building jobs. Edgar did not pay the men enough money. They worked for many hours every day. They lived in poor conditions. Edgar hit them. And he often moved them to new places. They did not know where they were. They could not escape. When they tried, Edgar found them again.
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Then Edgar left. He returned to their home country. The men had their chance to escape. Kevin walked to the main city and visited the embassy of his home country. Peter and Jim received help from the police. As a result, the police started a case against Edgar. Edgar went to prison for two years. He also had to pay some money to the men. But the men were afraid. Today, they receive protection from the police.
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Edgar had made the men work long hours, for little money. But he had first built up a sense of trust by giving them what they needed. Then he took them to a place where it was more difficult for them to escape. These conditions are common for many slaves. It is also true for one of the worst kinds of slavery: sexual slavery. This problem affects women in particular. In his introduction of the Blue Heart Campaign, Mr. Costa said,
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“It is the worst kind of violence against women. It is even worse that people make money from it. The shaming of women as property, or sex objects, damages all of our human honour.”
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One of these slaves was Maria. She became a slave at the age of fifteen. It started when Maria became friends with an older woman named Sofia. Sofia invited Maria to go with her to the city. She told Maria that Maria could get a better job there. Maria hoped to earn more money for her family. Sofia took Maria to the capital city. There, a man took her to a hotel with two other girls. Then, he forced her to have sex.
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Maria felt broken. She felt powerless, and she could not get away. The man brought her to a restaurant. There, she served food and drinks. The restaurant paid her, but she did not get the money. After one month, Sofia returned. Sofia said that she was Maria’s mother. And she took Maria’s wages. But things became much worse. Her owners forced her to work in different restaurants. And sometimes they also forced her to have sex with men.
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But things began to get better for Maria. Sofia took Maria to a dancing house. She had to dance for men, but she did not have to have sex. One day her father’s brother visited the house and recognised Maria. He told her parents where she was. They asked a human rights organisation to rescue her. Maria was safe at last. Sofia went to prison. She also had to pay Maria some money. But the authorities did not charge Sofia’s partner, the man who forced Maria to have sex. They did not look for witnesses.
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The organizers of the Blue Heart Campaign shared Maria’s story on their website. They say that Maria’s story is common among slaves. Just like the men from our first story, Maria was too frightened to get help. She did not have any money of her own. And her family did not know where she was. After she escaped, the authorities did not work to charge ALL the people involved.
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The Blue Heart Campaign hopes to prevent situations like Maria’s. The Blue Heart Campaign is organizing for better laws against slavery. But they are also encouraging normal people to learn about slavery in their own countries. They encourage all people to protect the victims, and future victims of this crime. Wearing a blue heart symbol is only the beginning.
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The writers of this program were Shelagh Godwin and Christy VanArragon. The producer was Nick Mangeolles. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at https://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called ‘Blue Heart Against Slavery’.
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
- See more at: https://spotlightenglish.com/listen/blue-heart-against-slavery#sthash.i0Vcu7Cv.dpuf
