500 miles in chains to end modern day slavery

24 July 2009 - Singer, songwriter Eric Proffitt will soon trade his music for his new endeavour - he is about to embark on a 500 mile journey to raise awareness on the issue of human trafficking.

On August 1, chained from head to toe, Eric will begin his 42 day quest and will run through major cities in the United States and United Kingdom. From the Statue of Liberty in New York to the graveside of abolitionist hero Williamberforce in London, Eric will not only carry heavy chains but a message of hope to fight modern day slavery.

"At least 27 millions people are already victims of human trafficking, they are suffering on a magnitude too staggering to comprehend" said Eric. The songwriter who attended the Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking in February last year said he was inspired to take action by the work of the UN to combat human trafficking . At the conference, Eric realized the severity of the crime. Nearly 60% of people in slavery are children and over 80% of people living in slavery are used as sexual slaves.

"A drug can only be sold once, but a person can be sold over and over again in the same night, that is why human trafficking has become the second most profitable illegal activity in the world. People are not aware that this crime happens around us, it’s a global problem and actions need to be taken, this is clearly slavery" he added.

Entitled Run4 the Rescue, this walk hopes to raise US$1 for each of the 27 million people living in slavery, and to awaken the world to the reality of this crime in every major city across the globe. Proceeds from the race will be used by non-profit organizations to rescue and rehabilitate trafficked victims and to find and prosecute the perpetrators of human trafficking.

Eric chose this concept as raising awareness nowadays requires some thinking outside of the box. As so much already takes place virtually, walking 500 miles with chains would definitely draw some attention which he will use to shed light on the topic.

The father of five daughters wants to inspire people to take action and show the world that ordinary people can do extraordinary things and that each individual has a role to play if we want to abolish slavery and eradicate human trafficking.

To donate and for more information please visit: http://www.run4therescue.com/

Meet an Anti-Human-Trafficking Activist: Eric Proffitt

Article by Andrew Beaujon of The Washington City Paper

This Saturday at 9 a.m., Eric Proffitt is going to go for a run. The Canadian-American singer-songwriter will drape himself with 10 pounds of chains, climb the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and then set off on a 15-day sprint to New York, his chains lapping his sides. Then he’ll fly to London and run to Hull. Why is he doing this, you ask?

At a Starbucks in Chevy Chase, D.C., Proffitt and his wife, Rebecca, corral their five daughters into some window seats and get them noncaffeinated frappuccinos. The plan to run 500 miles, they explain, dates back to February of last year, when Eric performed at a United Nations conference about human trafficking. He’d never given much thought to human trafficking before. “We were horrified,” he says. “I wondered, if it was my kids, what would I not do to rescue them?”

“It kind of ignited a fire,” says Rebecca. They decided they had to do something to publicize the issue. So Eric’s gonna run in chains. “They’re painful,” he says. “I don’t recommend them.” But he says they’re an “easy symbol” for the problem.

Eric says he hopes his run will be a “tipping point.” They want to raise a dollar for every victim of human trafficking—27 million, he says.

I ask about the safety of all this. “Aren’t you worried you’ll break something?” I ask. Proffitt’s been working with a running trainer. “He’s not a runner,” says Rebecca. “He’s a singer.” (He’s remade the Proclaimers’ “500 Miles” with running-in-chains-appropriate lyrics; you can buy a copy here.) She and the kids will be following him in a van.

Eric’s got special running socks, plus padding for his legs. The chains beat against him while he runs. “In a bizarre way it sets a rhythm,” he says. “I try to run with the chains rather than fighting them.”

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FRIENDS OF THE RUN:

A REAL princess backs me up

For all of those who grew up imagining high adventure in the days of kings and queens, I have a fantastic story. In those gallant stories of old, brave knights would sacrifice life and limb to rescue the helpless maiden from certain death at the hand of the cold-blooded villain.

Same story here, but there’s just a little good old-fashioned Shakespearean role confusion.

A REAL princess (I know because it says so on youtube!) has come to help save the day and rescue the helpless slaves of the world from the criminal masterminds of human trafficking. Her love knows no bounds and can only be matched by the deep river of sacrifice she is pouring into her efforts to change the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen I give you my fair princess:

(On your knees - all you loyal subjects!)

With a little help from my friends

My heart is feeling all warm and fuzzy today after thinking again on the work of a few young friends of mine who care about the freedom of children around the world about as much as I do. Upon hearing of the millions of enslaved children around the world the Schafer kids ages 5-14 did their homework literally. They researched chocolate, where it was from, how it was made and what companies used slave labor. After sharing their findings with their school group they decided one great way to bring freedom to the kids on the cocoa plantation was to sponsor-a-day of the Run 4 The Rescue.

From painting to weeding, day after day the Schafer kids happily volunteered their time to do dreaded chores earning money to put in the Run 4 The Rescue jar!

On May 30, I was able to meet briefly with the children (before they rushed off on an across Canada tour (www.familyadventuring.com) where they presented me with their full money jar. $79.25!

Today I train 5 hot miles in chains on behalf of the Schafer Kids! Thank you for your compassion, sacrifice and dedication to ending modern day slavery!

Eric

Try not to feel the urgency-I DARE YOU

The other day, I had niggling curiosity about some of the details of the 911 attack so I put on my favorite P.I. music and hopped onto the internet for a little digging. What I found was quite shocking…and strangely motivating. Let me explain.

I remember that shocking September morning in vivid detail, but in the flurry of media coverage, there were things I missed somehow until three days ago that have particular interest as they compare to my current undertaking.

I found out that the final report of missing and dead was 2,996 and the estimated immediate cost of the attack was placed at 100 billion dollars (and they even admit to not factoring every last thing into that number)

WOW! and then I saw how much we estimate the US has spent SO FAR to deliver that retribution we demanded…

more than 2 trillion dollars…let me pick myself up off the floor before I remind you that this number could also be represented as 2million phenomenally large wads of 1 million dollars.

Now for the shock and awe part of this little presentation.

If we double the number of victims of the 911 attack we get a number close to how many innocent men, women, and children from around the world are abducted, tricked, and violently brought into the ranks of slavery EVERY DAY…and it happens 365 days a year.

By extrapolation, we should be spending 4 trillion dollars a day to end this catastrophic emergency.

I think we should start small though with this run. Let’s raise 1 dollar for each of the estimated 27 million modern slaves to go toward their liberation and begin the healing. 27 Million dollars will be great, but still only a fraction of what it will take to see this trade in humans come to an end.

Together we WILL change the world and start a trend of allocating much needed resources to recognizing the problem instead of closing our eyes (speaking of our society in general), to fund the much needed research, to send the awesome ground troops who do the actual rescue, and enable those whose compassionate hearts are attuned to the work of rehabilitation.

Yes - It really is This urgent!

I can see why people wonder

Though I have never been one to try to fit in (I’d like to think it was because I was always comfortable with who I am…), without the framework of what I’m preparing for, it would seem like I was anxiously trying to NOT fit in. I know Salt Spring has a hearty share of people who for whatever reason play by the beat of their own bong-shaped drum, but I have pushed the limits here.

The other day on my run, I passed some close family friends, after which their teenager responded, “Yes- you really can do anything on this island!” ABOUT ME!

Well, maybe there are other things I should tell you. The other day I called my trainer and received this little gem of a coastal running trick that, though it works, doesn’t do much to enhance my image (all things considered) I am to go to the ocean 2 or 3 times a week and just hang out in the water. That might have been okay if it was just my calves, but I have to SUFFER with that whole above the knees trial and then what do I do for 30 minutes???- I guess I should just be grateful I don’t have to do in in the chains!

With the interviews and release of three newspaper articles last week, I thought the shocked reactions by the drivers would have died down (and it his has…a little) but I still get people who look at me like the escaped polka dotted hippo from the circus.

You know what though, I am so grateful for those who have donated and to those who honk and wave when they see me out in my garb. It lets me know that the awareness I envisioned at the outset has already begin.

The only thing to be seen is how that awareness turns into changed habits and culture…and after you read tomorrows post, you’ll see why for the sake of human dignity It must turn into more funding!

Man on the RUN!

So, I set out this morning to raise a little buzzzz and that’s just what I did. I started out like I usually do - traveling down my usual…safe…close-to-home route that gives me a lot of exposure with the ferry traffic without a lot of risk of face-to-face encounters, but I then I kept going a little further. This extended route I tried for the first time last Friday and had a lot of people in town talking (at least that’s what I was told) so I decided to give it another spin before the article comes out in the paper here and explains what I’m doing.

Well, I thought last Friday was busy, but today was even more so… So COOL! I started out a little later in the day and maybe that was a contributor, but wow LOTS of people to give me funny stares.

It ranges the gamut from those who hang out their windows and yell - “WOOO HOOO!” to those who give me the loco sign (spinning their fingers around their ears - they look crazy too if you don’t understand theirsymbols!) Then you have the guys who slow down to get a BIG LONG eyeful. You gotta love those, though, who struggle hard to ignore you - like a man in chains running down the road is something they see all the time!

Every now and again people stop and ask! BRAVE PEOPLE!

Today I found out what really happens though.

After running down Raffi (literally - I saw saw him pass me and pull over so I went to his car window in chains…He was a little hesitant to open the window, but after the explanation he wants more info), and running past the high school gym class who was running the other way (one of the kids explained to his peers that I must be training for an Ironman or something. I didn’t have the time to correct him…not Iron…Stainless Steel!) 3/4 of the way home a truck pulled up next to me to tell me that the police were looking for me up ahead!

I wonder - did he think I really was an escaped con and he was helping me out?

Anyway, I kept moving ahead in the noontime heat and just as I passed the corner I saw the lights come on (at least he didn’t use the siren - might have been the first high-speed chase in Saltspring for a long time!) When the officer got out, I recognized him and small talked a bit before he asked, “Aren’t you going to explain?” I waited a second “about the chains?” he finishes.

I give him the spiel and his smile visibly grows all the while. He laughed and said “Do you know how many calls we’ve had about you?” I asked “What do they think I’m en escaped Convict?” He said, “Honestly - they don’t know what to think. It took a while getting out here, but by the time I did, I couldn’t see you anywhere, so I stopped and asked a few people (I’m sure they loved that!) and no one had seen you today…but ALL OF THEM had seen you last week out on long harbor!”

I tried to get him to bring me home so I could get a picture, but he had other things to get to so that will have to wait for another time. “Besides, ” he said, “You need to be training!”

Anti-Slavery Activist Runs it Like He Talks it!

June 3, 2009

By Sean McIntyre, Gulf Islands Driftwood

If you’re driving down Long Harbour Road early in the morning and happen upon a man running along the side of the road in shackles, there’s no need for alarm.

Yes, he may be on the run, but it’s all for a valiant cause.

 

On August 1, 2009 Eric Proffitt will set off from London’s Westminster Abby and run nearly a marathon a day for 25 days as part of his Break These Chains campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking.

I’m doing this to help the world know that human trafficking still happens in every city on earth.” Proffitt said in an interview last week. “The whole point is that I want the entire world to stop and say ‘this is wrong’, I want this event to tip the balance and stop human slavery.”

News of his project has encouraged several groups in Victoria to invite Proffitt to run through the provincial capital before he leaves for England in late July.

Proffitt’s 800 kilometer run (500 mile) journey coincides with the commemoration of William Wilberforce’s 250th anniversary. Wilberforce was the 18th century British politician and philanthropist who made it his personal mission to ban the slave trade within the British Empire.

The run will take Proffitt west from London to Bristol, where he will venture northward through Gloucester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.

Proffitt’s route wraps up in Wilberforce’s birthplace of Kingston-Upon-Hull, where he will be one of the key presenter’s at the city’s annual freedom festival.

Many of the coastal cities along Proffitt’s route were major international ports and key ideological battlegrounds during the original move to end slavery.

Wilberforce may have succeeded in setting up some of the world’s first legislation banning the trade of human beings, but the underground slave trade is still alive and thriving.

According to statistics compiled by the United Nations between 1-4 million people are trafficked each year, 60 % of those are children and almost 80 percent are used in the sex trade.

There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today.

That’s enough to make it the third largest illegal market after drugs and weapons. The RCMP believes about 800 of those victims end up on Canadian streets each year.

Outside of the sex trade, much of the illegal slave trade involves individual held against their will to work in sweatshops, mines and on farms, where they produce many of the commodities that end up in the homes and stomachs of western consumers.

The involvement of powerful global organized crime syndicates and the weakness of federal anti-trafficking regulations here in Canada has encouraged Proffitt to attack the problem at its source.

“It will be the people who make the change,” he said. “If people are upset by this international disgrace, they may begin to ask questions about how and where the products they use are made.”

Proffitt said the global chocolate industry is among the most lucrative industries known to rely heavily on slave labor.

Strong consumer reaction to corporate irresponsibility around the world, Proffitt said, has proven companies will offer ethical alternatives if a demand exists.

“It’s really about starting where you are right now and questioning the impact of your everyday decisions,” he said.

Proffitt, a songwriter originally from the United States, “recognized the magnitude of this horror” while he was attending the United Nations’ Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking last year in Vienna.

Shocked by its scope and determined to do something about it, Proffitt and his wife made a joint decision to sell their home and use the proceeds to help fight human trafficking.

“My wife and family have been very supportive,” he said. “What awe are doing is really nothing compared to what is experienced every day by millions of slaves around the world.”

More information about Proffitt’s inspiring run is available online at www.ericproffitt.com

A Song For Exploited Children

Home-school parents Eric and Rebecca Proffitt were invited to attend the recent U.N. Forum on Human Trafficking held in Vienna, Austria. A character educator and information technology consultant who lives in Cardston, Alberta, Mr. Proffitt is also a singer-songwriter with a substantial body of work.
Horrified at hearing that 1.8 million children each year — a total of 27 million in the world today — are sold into slavery for sexual exploitation by adults, Mr. Proffitt wrote a song, “Little Child,” calling for the protection of these innocents.

The song attracted the attention of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and was played during a conference in New Delhi on the prevention of child trafficking.

This led to the invitation to perform at last month’s conference in Austria. Mrs. Proffitt, who is five months pregnant with their fifth child, accompanied her husband while their four daughters home-schooled with cousins for the week.

The Proffitts declined the wine at the pre-conference cocktail party and nursed their glasses of water. Mrs. Proffitt struck up a conversation with the only child present, a charming girl with a British accent who explained that she was there with her mother — award-winning actress and author Emma Thompson, a strong advocate for the protection of children.

When his host asked Mr. Proffitt to sing on the spur of the moment, without microphone or accompaniment, he began the haunting and powerful song “Amazing Grace,” explaining how this song, written by a repentant former slave trader, helped end legalized slavery in Britain two centuries ago.

It was later, during conference deliberations, that Mr. Proffitt was able to sing “Little Child” in front of 1,600 delegates, bringing hundreds of international leaders to tears.

“The room went silent; people leaned forward in their seats, eyes glued to the huge screens behind him,” Mrs. Proffitt reported, and her husband sang as pictures of innocent children flashed on the screen. When he spoke of his inspiration — his own young daughters — the applause was thunderous.

Despite the heady experiences, the Proffitts were more than a little overwhelmed by the information given at the conference.

“You felt like you were David, put up to fight the biggest, ugliest Goliath, and the chances of winning were so small that you didn”t want to try,” Mrs. Proffitt said, referring to the sheer numbers of children forced into prostitution, their living conditions and the violations they suffer. “But David had one thing on his side — God.”

Home-schooling families, by definition, care deeply about children and giving them a better future than the haphazard and shifting standards of remote educational systems. It’s inspiring when they can take this to a larger level, working for the liberation of millions of other children, raising their voices to end a slavery that would be unconscionable even if only one child were subjected to it.

As home-schoolers and caring families, we can play a vital role in raising awareness and demanding change, just as the Quakers and other conscientious abolitionists, though few in number, were able to catalyze public opinion and action to outlaw slavery.

If you would like to join the Proffitts in fighting child sex slavery, you can download the music video and slide show of “Little Child” from the Web site www.ericproffitt.com for a contribution of $1.99 and share it with others. Statistics and reports about the commercial exploitation of children can be found at www.ungift.org

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