On Tuesday May 20 they all started filing in. There were chiefs of police who headed up anti-trafficking efforts, organised crime and corruption units from all over Romania. National and regional directors of ANITP, the Romanian governmental agency for anti-trafficking also came along with prosecutors and judges. These 54 leaders were all gathering from across the country to spend two days to rewrite the National Referral Mechanism for victims of human trafficking. This work was important. It would have an effect on every victim that is rescued in or returned to Romania. 

There were a few things in her story that stood out to me and challenged me, aside from the natural horror felt at reading her account of history that no human being deserves to endure. The first was that in the first half of the book she is always asking why those who know better don't risk to do something about it. Her story gave an unassuming accusation to those who know good, are good and yet refuse to do anything.

2014 is flying by. It’s hard to believe it’s already March and the first two months of the year are over. These have been a jam packed two months at Abolishion. The year got off to an exciting start with the launch of our FREE online training course on human trafficking. We have specifically designed this course to help you understand how human trafficking happens and to know what you can do about it. The course covers a whole host of topics including, where to find statistics, supply and demand, how to identify traffickers and the psychology behind trafficker techniques. If you are not part of the 157 people who are already doing this course you can receive it free by signing up today. If you have done the course we’d love you to share it on social media and encourage your friends to sign up.

We are very pleased to announce that Cherith Wilson has joined our team at Abolishion.  She will be project managing all the work for our first shelter. She brings years of project management experience to the table as well as a passion for Europe, and particularly Romania. Although based in Australia, she will be spending 3 months each year in Romania to ensure everything is done like clockwork.

The Locust Effect is years of experience, tears that have been wept and lives that have cried out for justice, all rolled up into one script for the world to take notice of.  I hope we all learn the lesson that the violence the poor face on a daily basis needs to be addressed or the aid and development work we do can be completely undermined by those that use terror as their tool of choice.

This year we're starting something new on our blog. We want to keep you informed on all the latest things that are happening in Human Trafficking around the globe. At the end of each month we'll give you a summary of things that have been happening including the good, the bad and the ugly. Email us at [email protected] if you see something you think should be included.

We are very pleased to announce that Anthony Wilson has joined our team at Abolishion.  He will be working in the role of Australian Operations Manager, managing our Australian base, building networks, fundraising and spreading awareness.  Anthony openly admits to being an incurable fanatic when it comes to fighting trafficking.  So much so he is focusing his retirement on doing something about it.  He’s taken the time to visit the field in Romania, Moldova and France and has seen the issues that contribute to sex slavery.

It's an honour to be working with People 2 People Romania and the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons to send a message out to the Romanian people "Trafficking in persons starts with a promise for a better life". #preventionisbest

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