Human Trafficking
In this project I aimed to bring awareness about the ongoing problems with human trafficking within the United Kingdom. There are expected to be at least 100,000 victims within the UK. A part of this group is brought in through the UK Visa system, many of us would have seen or witnessed them being trafficked. Unfortunately, we are not educated enough to spot the warning signs, and this group remains invisible to the public eye.
These mini graphic novels are told within passports, these are the passports of victims who have been trafficked and had their passports taken away from them. Once the passports have been taken, it’s extremely difficult to get away from their abusers.
Warning: These graphic novels contain upsetting imagery, including suicide and sexual abuse.
Filipinos are one of the biggest victims of human trafficking within the UK – especially through the domestic visa. This story shows how victims are easily re-trafficked back into the system. The UK government unfortunately does not provide enough support for found victims, and often sends them straight back home to be found by trafficking gangs, they are then punished for escaping. They also make the process of receiving support extremely difficult, they ask for evidence and witnesses to their trafficking. Those witnesses often only being their abusers. These rich and influential people slip right through the justice system, receiving no punishment for their atrocious actions.
In this short story it shows how easy victims are manipulated into the trafficking system, they are often preyed upon for the difficult financial situations they are in. In fact, even if the victims are freed and sent back home, they are often re-trafficked as they are still desperate to support their families. It is unfortunately an endless cycle of abuse.
North Korea Labour Camps
These set of exhibition pieces hope to bring awareness to the human rights issues in North Korea. The pieces aim to target the governments appeal to present themselves as a great nation with no flaws, when in fact many human rights issues are taking place.
All these pieces contain a logo which say ‘Pyongyang’, the capital area for the elite and the government. The Munsudae assembly hall (a government building) has been included into the logo. It is a dig at how this facade lives, and who is most repsonsible for the issues within North Korea.
Stitches
This piece is an intended home sewing kit. North Korea is a large exporter of garments, having around 15 different export sectors. The back describes the contents within, which include: thread, needles and elastic.
Within labour camps are sometimes garment factories. Women are often subjected to sexual harassment and often picked out to please the on duty soldiers. Women have been known to have blood on their clothes, as they are given no sanitary products. If women are found to be pregnant before an arranged partnership they are killed – even if it’s the child of one of the soldiers.
Within labour camps prisoners often have to hunt rats and insects in order to survive, as they are given little to eat, often only cabbage soup. Some prisoners will hunt through cow pat in order to find undigested food, or risk their lives stealing food.
Inside this piece is an execution scene. Many citizens are killed and tortured within labour camps, particuarly political labour camps where four generations are punished. Many within the labour camps will tell on eachother, within these camps it’s a dog eat dog world. There is no sense of trust or even family.
Children within labour camps are subjected to cruel and labouring tasks with little breaks. Many will injure themselves or even die during their work. One of these jobs includes coal mining. Children within the labour camps have stunted growth as they are malnourished.
Rachel Canuto Illustration 