I’ve been busy at work with my team at Raise Their Voice to create space for a two-day event in April called Raise Their Voice: The Trafficked + Exploited.

It’s been a real example for me so far of stepping out in faith and taking a risk.  In the lead up to the production of She Has A Name, as we read the story  before audiences in Canada and the USA and then produced the show for its World Premiere, I was surprised (at first) and then keenly aware how deeply people responded to the play.

Of course the story is imagined, but it reflects the reality of human trafficking.  I was encouraged as a writer that the play received endorsements from people working locally and internationally to combat trafficking who assured me the story rang true and expressed some of the complexity of that world.  For many, it was the first time they learned about the cruel and dark world of human trafficking.

It became very important to me to help create space beyond the production, for people to learn about the local and global reality of human trafficking and also find ways to engage the issue. For people who like the “And now you know the rest of the story” kind of information, that is the impetus behind the event that will launch in 9 days.

I’m amazed at the people who are coming to the event, not only as contributors to deliver workshops and to speak, but the participants as well.  I shouldn’t be.  Since I started to learn about justice issues and address them in my own way, as best as I can, what I’ve come to see is that people have an inherent capacity to care about others.  When people learn about the suffering and exploitation of the most vulnerable in society, the common response is to ask how they can help.

That’s what this event is about.  Learning more.  And then finding ways, in our own lives, in our own ways, to engage.  I consider anyone who responds to these dark and difficult realities, people who find ways small and big to harness their passions and abilities then roll up their sleeves to do something about injustice to be amazing.

a·maz·ing:

causing great surprise or sudden wonder

I decided to look the word up, and it sounds about right, doesn’t it?  I’m surprised by all the ways people find to engage justice issues; I’m surprised by all the reasons they do it.  And suddenly, I wonder: what if more people got engaged, found out, and were not only touched by the reality but felt that in some way they might be able to do something too?  Something that would change the way things are.  Something that would even change them.

People like Graeme Watt, who started an effort to lead young people to change the world.  Or Glendene Grant whose own daughter was lured to the USA and trafficked who now commits her life to find Jessie and prevent such a horror from happening to anyone else’s daughter.  Or Joy Smith, a Member of Parliament who is leading an entire nation into developing a solid plan to combat trafficking.  Burnt Thicket Theatre, which joined a writer in his dream and risked telling a story that many would otherwise not hear.  Ashlea, a creative, entrepreneurial stay-at-home mom who dances upon injustice and won’t stand for the abuse of children. These are just a few of the people who are making the event so special.

And you.

I hope you’ll be there.  You’ll fit right in.  Your heart might break, but it should.

I’m risking something else in all this, too.  The belief that more people will raise their voice for others, and that it will be one of the best things in their whole lives that they’ll ever do.

Read about it in the press:

“Changing the world” Red Deer Express, April 6 2011

Erin Fawcett, “Upcoming seminar focuses on human trafficking in Canada” Red Deer Express, April 6 2011

“Mother of Canadian victim of human trafficking to speak at April 15 event in Red Deer” PR log, March 31 2011

“Red Deer to host event in April with leading Canadian anti-trafficking activists and lawmaker” PR Log, March 23 2011

Jamie Popoff and Steve Waldschmidt of Burnt Thicket Theatre (which is producing the World Premiere of my play She Has A Name in 2011) are touring with their play Hockey Dad: A Play in 3 Periods this summer.

Read the press release and if you’re in Winnipeg between July 14 – 24, check out this fine play at the WPG Fringe!

Synopsis:

A painfully funny journey exploring the potent bond between dads and their kids, this interactive solo performance will delight audiences of all ages (7+).

Disappointed by Hope: Migrants and Refugees in Search of A Better Country examines the plight of refugees and migrant workers in Malaysia through photographs and stories based on case studies and interviews with transients who have experienced abuse.

Disappointed by Hope

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 18, 2010 – Experts estimate there are between 1-2 million undocumented workers in Malaysia.  While many migrants come to the country with legitimate work permits, many are not so fortunate.  Foreign workers are often promised contracts in their home countries by various outsourcing agencies.  When they arrive in the country many are not given promised wages, have their contracts breached, and in some cases unsuspecting workers are trafficked for labor or for sex within the country.

Disappointed by Hope: Migrants and Refugees in Search of A Better Country is a new publication that explores the realities faced by many foreigners seeking labor or refuge within Malaysia. The book focuses on 26 specific issues and is based on case studies, actual accounts, and interviews with foreigners in Malaysia who have been trafficked for sex, deported, arrested, detained in Immigration Detention Centers, cheated, or who have fled violence and persecution in their country as legitimate refugees only to be granted no legal status by the Malaysian government.

The book features stunning images from Malaysian photographer Jonathan Kwok, Reflections by Melanie Hurlbut, and original short stories by Canadian writer Andrew Kooman. Former High Commissioner of Malaysia to Canada Dato’ Dennis Ignatius writes in the book’s foreword that Disappointed by Hope is “a siren call to … forever take from us our complacency to the plight of so many lost, lonely and hurting migrants.”

Disappointed by Hope is being released on 19 June, 2010, on the eve of World Refugee Day in Penang, Malaysia at 8 PM at the Penang House of Prayer (PenHOP). The book is published by Youth With A Mission Penang, which has a number of initiatives among migrants, refugees, and the urban poor in Malaysia, and Raise Their Voice Against Injustice, a society in Canada that addresses justice issues through story. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go toward establishing a school for the urban poor in Penang, Malaysia.

The book is available at www.raisetheirvoice.com and www.ywampenang.org.

# # #

About Raise Their Voice:
Raise Their Voice Against Injustice (RTV) is an official society in Canada. It exists to creatively and effectively address issues of global injustice. Based in Red Deer, Alberta, RTV has done work in television, documentary and feature film, and gives its strength to tell stories that capture the imagination of the heart on the page and for the stage — stories that affirm the value and dignity of the whole person.

— end —

Here’s the direct link to the release.

Media Advisory

For Immediate Release
RDC Alumni launches first book tonight at Second Cup

Red Deer, December 3, 2009 – For RDC alumni Andrew Kooman, global change and local impact are synonymous. And with the release of his first novel, Ten Silver Coins: The Drylings of Acchora, Andrew hopes the story he has written will inspire readers to get active about the needs facing people
worldwide.

Andrew received his Bachelor of Arts in English from RDC and discovered the passion and natural pen he had for creating impact with words. “The degree program, as well as the faculty, at RDC gave me confidence as a writer and equipped me with skills I use and want to continue to refine as I develop my craft,” says Andrew.

With travels taken around the globe, Andrew has seen that regular life at home in Red Deer shines very differently from “regular” life for others around the world. Displaced refugees and their needs pull a string on Andrew’s heart. His novel released this week tells the story of a young girl who is forced to flee her home. On a recent trip to Malaysia, while working on the forthcoming publication Disappointed by Hope: Migrants and Refugees in Search of a Better Country, Andrew’s eyes were opened to the plight of refugees and displaced people in South East Asia. Andrew had the privilege of meeting with different communities of refugees and migrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other nations.

“Ten Silver Coins: The Drylings of Acchora is an adventure story about courage and imagination that I think will delight readers of all ages.”

A book launch will take place tonight (December 3) at Second Cup in Southpointe Common from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. where Andrew will be present to autograph and answer any questions about his book. Books can also be purchased at www.AndrewKooman.com, at 10 Thousand Villages,
some local bookstores, Amazon.com and other online retailers.

For more information visit www.andrewkooman.com
RDC | 100 College Boulevard | Box 5005 | Red Deer | AB | Canada | T4N 5H5 | Bus: 403.342.3300 | Fax: 403.340.8940 | www.rdc.ab.ca

Synopsis
Before she ran away from the city of Vendor, Jill Strong was only known as a Daughter of Disgrace. Everything changes when she flees to the Forest and is given a treasure – ten silver coins – which she quickly loses.

It is up to Jill and Simon, the boy she meets in the Forest, to recover the treasure. To do so, the children enter Acchora, a world inhabited by the Drylings who hide in the belly of a dormant volcano under the curse of the Rashtakar, the cruel being who seeks the very treasure Jill has lost.

In Vendor, imagination and adventure are forbidden. In Acchora, without them, Jill and the Drylings
have no hope for survival.
– 30 –
About RDC: Red Deer College has served the needs of students and the community for 45 years. With more than 75 programs to choose from, we pride ourselves on providing a practical education, in a genuine and sustainable learning environment. Our 7,800 full-time and part-time credit students and
more than 13,000 continuing education students are at the core of everything we do. RDC – when you get here you understand.

For more information on RDC, please visit our website: www.rdc.ab.ca
For additional information, contact:
Lani Ledingham, Public Relations Consultant
RDC
403.342.3218