You’ve probably noticed that the word “pimp” has come into popular use in culture beyond the original definition.  It’s come to mean cool, glamorous, and is generally used a positive adjective thanks to the glorification of the pimp culture in rap songs and shows like MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.”  Recently Kim Kardashian posted a picture on Twitter of her and her friends with the caption, “Big Pimpin.’”  Demi Moore responded by saying that we need to stop glorifying the pimp culture since pimp’s are really nothing more than slave owners.

It’s hard to fault people for using a commonly used term in our culture because I’m sure most of them aren’t really thinking about what it means or what their use of the word is doing.  However, Rachel Lloyd of GEMS puts it well in her response to the debate that’s arisen over Kim and Demi’s exchange:

Ultimately though this issue isn’t about Kim or Demi. It’s about the girls and young women whose lives are systematically destroyed by pimps/traffickers. It’s about changing our societal acceptance of pimps and ‘pimpin’ and calling it what it really is: trafficking and slaveholding. Over 100,000 children in this country are exploited through the commercial sex industry each year, and the median age of entry into the sex industry is estimated to be between 12 and 14 years old. If those facts haven’t been enough to start a national dialogue about domestic trafficking of girls in the US, perhaps a Twitter exchange between two celebrities will be.

The bottom line is that it does matter, but people can’t change if we don’t tell them why they should.  You can be part of the change by not using the phrase and telling others about what pimping is really like when they use the word.  You can also sign a petition to tell Wisk to stop glamorizing the pimp culture in their new contest, “Pimp my Laundry Room”

We are just full of great, hands on ways that you can help raise awareness about human trafficking and make an impact in the lives of survivors.  In less than 2 weeks UC’s campus will be hosting the Aruna 5k run to raise money for the Aruna Project in Mumbai, India.  The Aruna project helps rescue girls from the sex trade in Mumbai and offers them a life of freedom.  Sign up now and run for their freedom!  If you don’t want to run, you can sponsor me (Emily) to run.  Send me an email at hello@stoptraffickfashion.com if you’re interested.

We just came across this great blog post on the Nomi Network blog about the plight of women trafficked into the sex industry in Cambodia.  It’s written by a Sopheap Chak an activist who mobilizes young people through the Cambodian Youth Network for Change and is currently a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan.  Her post gives a great summary of the conditions of sex trafficking in Cambodia.

The Nomi Network is an outstanding organization that works with partners in Cambodia to help design products and train women to produce products that are desirable in the western markets. They work with the women of Hagar Cambodia at StopStart designs.  You can check out their first bag on our site, and we’ll be adding their new line this Spring!

Today we have two easy ways for you to make a difference in the fight against human trafficking.

1.  Tell Congress to fund programs to help end human trafficking.  In December of 2008 Congress voted to set aside millions of dollars to help survivors of trafficking and get traffickers off the street.  However, none of the funds can be used until Congress passes the legislation to appropriate the funds.  A simple click of your mouse can help send the message to Congress.  If the people cry out and show the government that they are serious about this issue, they must respond!

2.  Buy Fair Trade chocolate this Easter.  Yes, you’ve read our posts about the slavery that occurs in the cocoa industry before, but now is the perfect time of year to respond.  Rather than buying a chocolate bunny with cocoa that could have been made by slaves, take a few minutes to educate yourself about the chocolate producers out there and buy ethically sourced chocolate.  Find out more details here.

Breaking News Update Location: Chennai, India Date: March 12, 2010 Result: 13 slaves freed Dear Emily, Last Friday, IJM’s Chennai team rescued 13 children, women and men from slavery in a large rice mill.

March 12, 2010: A family gathers their belongings to leave the rice mill during the rescue operation conducted by IJM and local authorities.

Forced to live in tiny shacks within the compound, the slaves were desperate for release. One of the victims, Mukesh*, was suffering from tuberculosis and had been forbidden from leaving the mill for treatment. At rescue, he had not eaten for four days.

Today, he and the rest of the slaves are free. Mukesh is receiving medical treatment, and he and the other former slaves will receive funds and supplies from the government to build their new lives. IJM aftercare staff will provide them with continued assistance as they resettle in their home villages.

Thank you for joining with IJM to seek justice. This movement of friends, advocates and supporters around the world is what enables IJM to literally free slaves and change lives.

Gratefully,

Laurie Hayes
Director of Development

P.S. Visit IJM.org to learn about other recent rescues.

Thanks to everyone who attended our T-shirt launch party and benefit concert on Friday. It was a huge success - we had a great turnout, listened to some great music (by Artists & Authors, Flaregun, Laura Hellebusch and Kristen Budde), watched some fabulous art (by Arian & Daniel Armstrong) be created, and raised money for Hagar International!  Our brand new line of T-shirts is now available online as well.

Your purchase of a Freeset Tee from Stop Traffick Fashion helps continue a journey of freedom. In Kolkata, India, thousands of women are trapped in prostitution, forced there by poverty. The Freeset women have chosen freedom by learning new skills at the Freeset business. Their new lives include fair wages, health benefits, pension funds, literacy classes and daycare for their children. More importantly, they are no longer forced to sell their bodies and their children have new opportunities. The T-shirt was created by Freeset women for you.  Join their journey of freedom.
Check them out and recommend them to your friends.

They bartered for her body.
Made an offer, set a price.
She followed a hollow promise;
now empty words bounce off like hail,
leaving their damage behind.

It’s a broken deal—
severed trust.

She is empty air.
Lying on a cot in a dank corner,
skin sweating, spirit frozen.
She is a hollow body:
ripped, torn, scarred.
Swallowed in pain, feeling nothing.
Her eyes no longer cry;
her mouth no longer smiles.

She is empty air—
speaking.
A phantom voice manifesting, now.
Not quieting,
telling a story, her story.
Slowly steadily refusing to back down,
she is clasping a hope that seems inconceivable.

Our ears hear her story.
We are unsilent.
We are resonating the sound of the silenced.
We are clenching justice in our hearts and love in our fists.
We are locking eyes with injustice.

We are ready to do the work of love.

Stop Traffick Fashion will launch our new Freeset t-shirts tonight! Come to our party and benefit concert in Cincinnati, or watch the website this weekend for shirts.

But first, a little more about Freeset…

At its core Freeset is a business. It exists to make and sell products for profit. But it’s a business about loving people and working toward freedom.

The money the bags and t-shirts generate goes to fair wages, health insurance, and pension funds. The bottom line is the more bags and shirts Freeset sells the more women it can employ. Your purchase really does have an effect on the lives of women and their families on the other side of the world.

One great way to have an impact—beyond the bags and shirts in the STF store—is to order custom bags or shirts for your business or organization. You supply them with the design; they screen print it on a handmade, fair trade bag or shirt. Then you and everyone in your organization has a chance to be part of the story and to share the story with people they meet. Email us at hello@stoptraffickfashion.com if you’re interested.

There are stories of freedom and hope happening around the world—be a part of someone’s story today.

Check out some pictures from my trip. (Freeset’s policy is that visitors can’t photograph the women because their image has been exploited their whole live. There are some photos of the women on their website and in their new promo video.)

Rolls of jute for bags

Stacks of bags in the finishing room

Screen printed jute, hanging up to dry

Screen printing on the roof

Looking down into the courtyard where everyone gathers in the morning

Work rooms around the courtyard

One of the sewing rooms

Artwork outside the nursery

The water filtration system for Freeset and the neighborhood

Renovating the new building

Sewing the t-shirts

The t-shirt folding area

Freeset tees!

Without a doubt, the most striking thing about Freeset is the women. It’s not the well-designed, eco-friendly products; it’s not the ex-pat staff; it’s not the unique focus and business structure. The women are what sets Freeset apart. They radiate freedom and hope to their community. (more…)

A day in the life of a Freeset woman starts early. Before work the women head to the markets to get the day’s food for their families. They make preparations for the day, then head to work.

By 10am the ground floor courtyard at Freeset is packed with women in bright colored saris, some laughing and talking, others sitting quietly waiting for the day to begin. Once everyone is there (all 170+ women), a visiting minister or a staff person reads from the Bible and often offers their thoughts on the passage. (When I was there they read about Mary and Elizabeth—two ordinary women who had the faith to do extraordinary things.) Next, there is prayer. After that one of the women leads the group in song, and sometimes there’s dancing. Voices and clapping echo up through the building.

Then it’s time for work. They go to rooms along the sides of the courtyard on all three floors, and to the covered area on the roof where they screen print fabric for bags and t-shirts. Most rooms have rows of sewing machines, and according to their ability, different groups sew different parts of the bags or shirts. Another group women works spreading ink through custom designed screens and drying the bright colored prints on the fabric. A few women also work in the nursery that provides affordable, safe childcare for kids right where their mothers work. The least skilled women, often the oldest ones or the ones whose past have been particularly traumatizing, work in the finishing room; they sit in a circle talking and trimming excess thread from the bags, making sure everything looks perfect and ready to sell.

Each new woman at Freeset is trained in a variety of skills. They learn to sew, to write their names, and to read basic words and sentences. Learning is a challenge for many of the women. Almost none of been to school, and for some the trauma of their lives has set a limit on how much they’re able to learn. After about three months of training, each woman is placed in the part of the business that best fits their skills. Every woman, no matter how unskilled, is given a place. No one is ever turned away because of lack of ability.

At noon, everyone breaks for tea. It’s a time to relax, chat, and recharge. At two, it’s time for an hour lunch break. Most of the women go back home; some spend time in the small yard behind Freeset—a true luxury in the area. At three, it’s back to work until five o’clock tea. Finally, at seven, everyone gathers in the courtyard again for pray. Then it’s home for the evening.

Keep reading over the next few days for more about Freeset—and stay tuned for the unveiling of our new Freeset tees!