Freedom Week

Freedom Week
Date March 2011
Location Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada
Participants Tara Teng
Todd Hauptman

Freedom Week was a March 2011 campaign that took place in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada to raise awareness about contemporary slavery. The campaign was organized by Tara Teng, who was Miss Canada at the time,[1] and Todd Hauptman,[2] a worker in the office of Member of the Legislative Assembly Mary Polak.[3] The campaign was primarily young-adult-organized; there was not much input from older adults. Teng's father found this fact "the most amazing thing about Freedom Week."[4] Teng said that "victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation were found in communities all across the Lower Mainland" that year.[5] She had hoped to use the event to connect people with organizations opposing human trafficking, and also to form relationships between these organizations. Before the campaign, she was in talks with Not for Sale, Exodus Cry, and International Justice Mission.[6] The campaign involved a prayer meeting, performance art in various locations, and a walk in Langley.[1] Teng had first recommended this walk, called the Freedom March, to the Langley city council in the summer of 2010[7] and the walk became the main event of the Freedom Week campaign.[2] The Freedom March was 5 kilometers long[8] and included an information session in Douglas Park. Speakers at the information session included Peter Fassbender, Mayor of the City of Langley; Mark Warawa, MP for Langley; and Jamie McIntosh, founder of IJM Canada. The three spoke about human trafficking on a local, national, and international level respectively. Teng expected that attendees would be surprised by the information they were given and she hoped that they would be moved to action against human trafficking. Teng expected 2000 people to attend.[2] Portions of the Fraser Highway were shut down to accommodate the events.[1] Some of the week's events were held in Surrey and Coquitlam, including a dance performance at Chandos Pattison Auditorium, a prayer meeting in Coquitlam, and a performance of Limbo, a human-trafficking-themed play, at Christian Life Assembly.[2] The performance of Limbo, a play by Shane Rochon, was the play's premiere.[9] Teng said that the beauty of the week came from the fact that it included "people of all ages, from all walks of life, banding together". All of the events were free, but donations were accepted for organizations opposing human trafficking.[2] Freedom Week led to the creation of another anti-human-trafficking campaign that summer: the Ignite the Road to Justice Mission Tour.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hannah Sutherland (February 24, 2011). "Miss Canada speaks in South Surrey". Peace Arch News. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Brenda Anderson (March 3, 2011). "Crying freedom". Langley Times. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ Matthew Claxton (April 26, 2012). "Young duo fighting against exploitation". Langley Advance. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ Frank Stirk (May 2011). "Church planter's daughter commits to fighting human trafficking". Baptist Horizon 24 (2): 10. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Ending slavery". Langley Advance. January 19, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  6. ↑ Frank Stirk (September 10, 2010). "Beauty queen targets human trafficking". ChristianWeek. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  7. ↑ John Gordon (January 31, 2011). "Langley's Tara Teng named Miss Canada". Langley Times. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  8. ↑ Jennifer Watton (August 10, 2010). "Miss BC uses her title to speak out about human trafficking". Trinity Western University. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  9. ↑ Brenda Anderson (May 24, 2011). "Langley playwright thrilled to be on the Fringe". Langley Times. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  10. ↑ Emily Wierenga (August 26, 2011). "Miss Canada inspires others to rise up against human trafficking". ChristianWeek. Retrieved May 20, 2013.