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“I was shocked to discover that across the country I call home, thousands are forced to work without pay…we need to stamp out this horrendous crime once and for all. I urge you to help us.“ - Judi Dench, Patron of Anti-Slavery International.

Christmas is a very important time for many of us, and your help is needed more than ever at this time so that we can make 2012 a better year for those people who are still living in slavery. Christmas is often romantically associated with Charles Dickens, yet slavery hasn’t changed since Dickensian times, whether around the world or in the UK.

“ We work and sleep, that’s it. It often seems to me that we hardly exist at all”

The above words are not from Dickens or Victorian times. They were spoken in November 2011 and are the testimony of a hotel worker, trafficked from Sierra Leone to London. They prove that slavery is definitely not a thing of the past. As a supporter of Anti-Slavery International, you recognise the sad reality that slavery remains a real problem to this day, affecting over 12 million globally and around 5,000 people in the UK.

Anti-Slavery International is succeeding

With Christmas upon us, and 2011 drawing to a close, we can reflect on some great successes this year in our struggle to defeat slavery.

Firstly, our Home Alone campaign has been a great success, taking a massive step towards protecting some of the most vulnerable workers after years of being ignored, exploited and abused. In June the International Labour Organisation adopted a Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, which secures the rights of millions of domestic workers across the globe.

Secondly, we forced the UK government to provide extra protection to trafficking victims and to help increase prosecutions of traffickers across Europe. By delivering a petition signed by over 47,000 supporters, we made the UK government do a U-turn and sign up to a new EU anti-trafficking law that will help secure justice for people who have been trafficked.

We also focused on providing education to children who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance of receiving it. As well as supporting six schools for slave-descendants in Niger, we also opened a new large education programme for children of bonded labourers in Nepal. In both cases we’re seeing great results that are changing whole communities.

This Christmas, we need your help to do more

However, massive challenges stay ahead of us.

Unfortunately, the UK government is still refusing to protect the rights of migrant workers who find themselves in abusive situations by not allowing them to escape through changing employers. Not only is it refusing to sign up to the new Domestic Workers convention, it is also considering removing Domestic Worker visa status.

Our ‘Cotton Crimes’ campaign aims to stop the use of forced child labour in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan. Despite gathering widespread support, we still need to force the EU to stop giving Uzbekistan trade preferences for its cotton and allowing this type of slavery to continue.

As London prepares for the 2012 Olympics, our attention must also turn back to the UK. Our ‘Slavery-Free London’ campaign is aiming to make sure the increased risks of trafficking associated with the Games are properly addressed.

Whether people are in bonded labour in India, domestic workers in the Middle East, trafficked for sex exploitation into the UK or just happen to be born slaves owned by a ‘master’ in Niger, they all need our help to set themselves free.

Please help us to stop this happening. As Christmas approaches, please consider making a donation. Please fill out the form attached and return to us in the self addressed envelope provided or donate online at www.antislavery.org. Even the smallest donation can go a long way to help us end this crime.