Moving to Mexico City in 2015 to combat Human Trafficking with El Pozo de Vida (The Well of Life)
After living in London and learning about
trafficking here, I have realised the global and local impact of this crime.
There is no doubt that so much more work needs to be done in England and Europe
to tackle trafficking. However, having started my journey in Mexico and never
really having the chance to make a impact there, I am determined to go back and
work directly combatting human trafficking rather than solely researching it.
The people that I met during my short time in Mexico worked devotedly
and tirelessly to raise awareness, to protect vulnerable members of society, to
educate through schools and the media, to find and protect victims of
trafficking, to prosecute the criminals who carried out these crimes. They
offer so much to Mexican anti-trafficking efforts and yet it became apparent
that significantly more was, IS needed to really impact upon the eradication of
this crime.
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| Published report I co-wrote for SHF |
Through the Sophie Hayes Foundation (SHF), London, I have become involved with El Pozo de Vida (The Well of Life) in Mexico, an organisation which prevents trafficking through raising awareness, protects and supports the recovery of survivors of trafficking and supports the prosecution process of traffickers. By going to Mexico in January 2015 I will support the work of El Pozo by raising awareness through social media and providing information to schools, support survivors in their recovery by working in their safehouses in Mexico City (DF), assist them in applying for grants to ensure the project remains sustainable and generally support the team in their efforts to combat trafficking in Mexico. In this role I will lend my skills and knowledge, from my work with Sophie Hayes in London, and learn from the work they carry out in Mexico. I hope, more than simply to lend my time to El Pozo, to create a partnership between the Sophie Hayes Foundation and El Pozo where an internationally joined-up approach to combatting trafficking is initiated and we can learn from and support one another.
Being in the middle of the Americas, Mexico is a
source, destination and transit country for human trafficking. This means that
not only is trafficking a significant challenge within Mexico but that this
crime permeates its borders and impacts the whole of the North, Central and
South America Mexico is
often referred to as the ‘Thailand of America’ due to the high proportion of
trafficking that occurs here. And whilst the Mexican government has attempted
to comply with the American Department of State Guidelines, from their yearly
report on trafficking, it has remained a Tier Two country for trafficking
meaning: “countries whose governments do not fully comply with the Trafficking in Persons Report
minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into
compliance with those standards”.
Whilst the initial 2007 Law on Trafficking has since been
amended and significantly expanded in the 2012 government’s Law, pushed through
largely by the efforts of Rosi Orozco, there is still a substantial amount of
work that needs to be done in order for this law to succeed. With the
mechanisms for the implementation of the law remaining flawed due to a lack of
awareness and training for police and judicial authorities, corruption and a
lack of political will to regularly review and improve the law, the need
remains great to contribute towards the work of NGOs, charities and other
anti-trafficking organisations who gradually create a positive impact. It is through
volunteers, academics and committed civil
servants that real change might be brought about, that awareness about the
crime will improve; that police and border control training will improve; that
pressure will be put on the government to implement the law; that corruption
will be diminished through mechanisms of transparency and accountability; that
victims will be noticed protected
and rehabilitated; that this crime will be prevented and that criminals will be
prosecuted and brought to justice.
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| A 'restaurant' that was shut down in DF because of a clandestine human trafficking operation |
To make this Happen
El Pozo is a Mexican charity run primarily by volunteers due to their limited resources and their primary focus on supporting survivors of trafficking with the majority of their funds. In order for me to work with them I have to raise enough money for my living expenses in Mexico so that I can devote my time to supporting the work that El Pozo does. Which explains this blog. If you haven't been able to tell I'm not really one with the words, I promise these will get briefer and include more anecdotes and pictures from here on but I wanted to set out the goal in its entirety.
So the aim. To work in Mexico for a year I aim to fundraise £10,000 to support my living expenses and flights. This money will ensure that I can devote my time in 2015 (initially for one year) to working with El Pozo, supporting their anti-trafficking projects entirely and establishing/encouraging the relationship between El Pozo and the Sophie Hayes Foundation.
To fundraise this amount I have created this blog where I will provide regular updates about my time in Mexico, I will apply for any available grants for volunteering abroad, I will approach individuals and groups to present my project and I will hold events to explain the work that I will carry out. I am genuinely passionate about combatting this appalling crime and believe that fundraising so that I can dedicate my time entirely to working with El Pozo will really impact on anti-trafficking efforts, not only in Mexico but through the mutual learning process happening with the international partnership of El Pozo and the Sophie Hayes Foundation. When I go to Mexico I have two choices, either I fundraise enough and can devote my time completely to supporting El Pozo or I fundraise a partial amount of my expenses and have to divide my time between teaching English and volunteering with El Pozo. Obviously my aim is to meet the first goal, however regardless of how I achieve this I will go to Mexico in 2015 and support anti-trafficking efforts of El Pozo.
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| On the road in Mexico |
A Last Note
Through this blog I will present the work of El Pozo de Vida in Mexico and the work that I do to combat human trafficking through this organisation. Here I attach links to El Pozo and the Sophie Hayes Foundation to better explain their work and the impact of these organisations in England and Mexico. I also appeal to you to support my fundraising efforts by donating money through Sophie Hayes' VirginMoneyGiving and making sure you put the message 'EL POZO' so that this donation will be used solely for supporting my work in Mexico.
Thank you so much for your time and support and I hope to update you soon.
Felicity (flickelsewhere)
Donate here with the message EL POZO to support my work in Mexico
Staying in Mexico for a month last year, I felt totally inadequate at my poor level of Spanish, "un hotel no caro" and "un quesadilla champiñones" didn't quite cut it for some reason. Sure, all the hipsters/fresas can speak English and getting around Roma and Condesa is no problem, but trying to order street food and take taxis was a bit of a nightmare. So when I got back to England I decided to dedicate some much needed procrastination time, while finishing my dissertation, to Duolingo and it's stuck. 
