“Stop The Traffik”, Daniel Bedingfield’s Fight Against Human Trafficking

In late October, I was privileged to attend The Global Forum on Human Trafficking sponsored by Not For Sale.  The conference was held to inform attendees about the new developments of anti-trafficking efforts around the world, as well as to discuss alternative and creative ways of combating this injustice. 

The conference had many amazing speakers including the Dutchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, and Twitter Founder, Jack Dorsey.  However, as a musician, I was most pleased by the unannounced arrival of Daniel Bedingfield.  For those of you who might not be familiar with Mr. Bedingfield, he arrived on the music scene in the early 2000’s with his hit “Gotta Get Thru This” followed by, “If Your Not The One.”  He originated in the UK dance scene, and quickly jumped the pond to the U.S. early in his career.  I was so excited to see him at the conference that I left a friend mid-conversation to run and listen to him perform.

When we broke for lunch, I had a chance to meet with Daniel and asked him about his involvement with this important issue and the organization Not For Sale.  He shared that after he first heard about the abuse and slavery of young girls and children, that he would use the platform he best understood, music, to further the cause. He shared with me that he was so passionate about stopping human trafficking that he decided his next album would be titled “Stop The Traffik.” When speaking to Music & Life about his new album, and whether this issue would hinder his creativity, he said, “I think that passion and music are so incredibly intertwined; if I didn't do something like this, we'd never have any good songs from me ever again."

Well Daniel, I couldn’t agree more.  I believe if music isn’t infused by passion and isn’t pointing to something beyond ourselves or looking or humanity straight in the eye, it’s just ear candy.  Music is the one thing that can capture my mind and my heart at the same time. Music is emotion-infused storytelling, and is capable to move people to action which is why I believe it is one of the best avenues to share about this heartbreaking injustice.

Sara Groves, Matisyahu, Natasha Beddingfield, Enation and many more musicians are using their creativity to bring awareness to the issue of modern day slavery.  My advice; check them out, support their music and become informed.  If you are a musician, write your thoughts and put them to music.  A life may be changed by your call to action and awareness.

To learn more about the issue of Human Trafficking, please check out the following website http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about/slavery/

-Kirsten Devlin