Anti-human trafficking march well supported in George

GEORGE NEWS - A good turn-out of 125 people participated in this year's Walk for Freedom initiative in George on Saturday morning, 14 October.

Every year, residents and visitors have the opportunity to join tens of thousands of people across the globe to take a stand against human trafficking by participating in this initiative.

The silent march started from Hope Church in Knysna Road at 08:00 from where participants made their way down Knysna Road, through Le Vallia and back to Hope Church in single file.

Now in its ninth year, the initiative involved people across the globe taking to the streets in more than 500 cities in about 80 countries, holding posters and handing out flyers to reach their communities with information about human trafficking and how to end it.

Over the years, more than 1,3-million flyers have been distributed and about 1,2-billion people have been reached through media coverage.

Participants during a previous A21 Walk for Freedom in George.

Organised by the A21 organisation, the initiative was started because of statistics that indicate that more than 40-million people are currently enslaved due to human trafficking operations around the world.

This takes many forms, including trafficking people for forced labour and to exploit their bodies.

According to Clare Cooper of Hope Church, communities are being awakened to the truth of modern-day slavery and equipped to prevent and report it. Thousands have walked, taking local action to create a global impact.

"Hope Church supports A21 Walk year after year. We feel that as a church, we need to be part of spreading this awareness and we can never underestimate the power of our action. Your action is the catalyst for raising awareness and equipping ordinary people, like you and me, to be part of the solution. It's action in motion where thousands of advocates unite for one cause - freedom for every human being," she said.

The silent marchers making their way down Knysna Road on Saturday morning. Photos: Kristy Kolberg