BACKGROUND
The Face of Freedom is a piece that was written to draw attention to the real-life stories behind the slavery statistics that we regularly see. So often we hear of how there are 40 million people in modern slavery that it is easy to become desensitised to its scale. However, it is less easy to become desensitised to the personal stories of abuse that each person may go through. I wanted the piece to highlight the different scenarios of exploitation people experience, the realities of slavery that are forgotten when we focus on statistics. It reminds us that behind the large numbers are individuals with unique stories and desires for freedom – it gives a face to the numbers. It highlights the lack of control over one’s life, suffering in silence and the world we have created that thrives on a system of exploitation, cheap labour and abuse. It talks us through what freedom might look like to different people. But it also highlights how each of us have a duty
to speak up for the atrocities that we see. It reminds us that every person in slavery has a voice, and where we can amplify their voice, we should. It hopefully challenges us to have those difficult and uncomfortable conversations about modern slavery, so that this world becomes a place where it struggles to thrive.
THE FACE OF FREEDOM
Many of us don’t have to think about being free
We just are
But this isn’t the truth that everyone lives
No, this isn’t the truth that everyone knows
There is a truth outside these walls
That we surround ourselves in
To hide away from the reality
That there are people still in slavery
That millions exist like you and me
Who simply long to be free
The desire for freedom has many faces
It is the face of a girl trafficked and sold into sexual slavery in Italy She has unwillingly had more men know her than her age And there is a rage that wells in her heart
Every time she realises that she is a pawn
In the game of cheap labour, sex and goods
And she doesn’t get to keep the check
It is the face of a young man in forced labour
Moving brick after brick in India
Because he was sold lies of a better tomorrow
When all he wanted to do was feed his wife and kids
It is the little boys fishing in Lake Volta in Ghana
For 17 hours a day with no safety gear or equipment And one by one, they swap places with the fish
The fish, they come up
And the boys, they go down
They drown
It is the woman, trafficked from Nigeria to London Promised education
But instead lives each day slaving
Under the roof of her aunt
This is the reality
Of 40 million people
And each one that makes that number
Is one person
Like you
Like me
And all they want is freedom
All in all
All everyone wants is to be free
In one way or another
The Face of Freedom
From pain
From struggling
From fear
My freedom looks different from yours
And yours different from the next person
And theirs different from ours
It is this longing for freedom
That makes us do things we otherwise would not
Because freedom is a defining point in life
The moment where you are in control of your next step Where you can look over your shoulder and smile
Instead of being afraid of what blow might come next
Instead some suffer in silence
But it is hard to stomach a blow and give birth to a smile at the same time It is hard to live your best life, tied to the strings of misfortune A puppet to the system that we have built
When your cards just don’t add up
So sometimes you fold
When you’ve had enough
When freedom seems unattainable
Apparently slavery was done and over
But we love sex, control and cheap labour
More than we love our brothers and sisters
We love it too much to squash it
So instead we amplified it
Spread it across the globe
And made a fortune out of it
Human trafficking is soon to pass drug trafficking
We made a pandemic out of it
But we have a duty
To fight for and set free
Every single being in captivity
We can’t live life quiet by choice
When there are millions whose voices are unheard
Those who are free, fight for those in chains
For we are one and the same
At the very root of it all
Humans.
Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers
People.
Who just long to be free.
Mide is an international spoken word poet and an aspiring Barrister from London. She uses her poetry to share stories inspired from her own experiences and that of others. In her spare time, Mide enjoys writing and performing poetry, working with children and young people and working on creative projects.