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Stories

Woman in a Suitcase

November, 2009   |   Submitted by Wendy Tng, Contributor

Wendy is a project coordinator and developer for AWP's initiative on modern-day slavery, AT WHAT COST _ Human Trafficking/Forced Labor/Child Labor. She enjoys research, writing and constantly learning. Wendy is dedicated to working for positive social impact.

Wendy Tng

Researching as the program coordinator for At What Cost, it’s great to see how other organizations have used media in creative ways to highlight social issues and motivate action. Here are some examples:

  • In a German airport, Amnesty International places a woman in a transparent suitcase which goes round the baggage carousel, to highlight the untold numbers of women and children trafficked every year. It’s a no-holds-barred take on grabbing public attention, and it’s worth watching just for the expression on everyone’s faces: www.animalnewyork.com/2009/05/ad-creep-update-woman-in-suitcase/#more-13697.
  • The last film narrated by Paul Newman, The Price of Sugar, follows a Spanish priest as he organizes sugarcane workers in the Dominican Republic to fight for their human rights, raising crucial questions about the human costs of the products we consume: www.thepriceofsugar.com/about.shtml. Having heard the great interview with director and filmmaker Bill Haney on the fight for basic human rights on these sugarcane plantations, this promises to be a compelling film.
  • Rob Reynolds of Al-Jazeera News takes a close, intimate look at the living conditions of Haitian sugarcane workers in the Dominican Republic, raising excellent questions about how sugar ends up on our tables: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz1FoON7ayg
  • The Price of Sex: Women Speak is a project by photojournalist Mimi Chakarova that documents the journey of women from the former Soviet bloc to the streets of Turkey and nightclubs of Dubai. The raw honesty of these recorded interviews reveals the all-too-common themes of escaping poverty, gender dynamics and a struggle for a better life: www.priceofsex.org/content/price-sex-women-speak.
  • The Story of Stuff, a project by Free Range Studios, the Tides Foundation and Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, is an excellent look at our current consumption and production habits and their often unseen externalities. It does an amazing job of simplifying and connecting ideas, and I highly recommend it: www.storyofstuff.com.