He then sees a small boy running from starfish to starfish, throwing each into the sea as he goes. The man asks the boy: ‘What difference do you think you are going to make? There are too many.’ The boy turns to him, throws another back into the sea, and says: ‘Well, it made a difference to that one’.
It’s a nice story. But it has its limits. When it comes to the global crisis of slavery – it’s a whole lot more complicated than throwing starfish into the sea. Even if we do manage to fling some starfish into the ocean we may find that those ‘rescued’ simply wash up further down the beach. After all, we are battling against a huge and mighty tidal current, bringing more and more flailing sea creatures onto the shore with every passing moment. And that’s if we can even see the starfish in the first place; slavery and trafficking are underground epidemics.
Do we then – like the man on the beach – get so overwhelmed by the scale of this monstrosity that we are paralysed to inaction? This month we have spoken to many different organisations who are thinking strategically about this issue, investing time and effort and resources into combatting the causes of slavery. They are taking on the ocean, not simply organising a beach clean-up effort. And their message is resoundingly clear: there are many important ways that we and our youth groups can get involved. Whether that’s campaigning for transparency in supply chains, spotting signs of trafficking in our own communities, changing attitudes about prostitution among peers - so that the demand for sex is no longer there - or targeting the poverty which drives people into ‘choosing’ slavery in the first place.
Back to our boy on the beach. One small boy could only hope to save a few starfish. Big picture-wise – it was a lost cause. But we have reason for great hope. Thousands of people are being mobilised to this cause, and waking up to the problem of slavery, talking about it and doing something about it. Young people care passionately about it in a unique way, as does the Church. It is not beyond the realms of imagination that one day – if ideas change, if companies are made accountable, if criminals are discovered and brought to justice – slavery could be no more. One boy cannot save thousands of starfish. But thousands of people can save thousands of starfish. We’re all needed in this effort.
This Month
…you may have noticed that our logo on the front cover has changed. Don’t be alarmed! We have not changed, moved or become part of a different organisation. The team sits at exactly the same desks as we always have and my purple sparkly reindeer – a key aspect of my working life – remains resolutely in front of my monitor. Changes to the cover masthead design reflect a re-brand at Premier, the company which has owned and published this title since 1998 and without whom we would not exist. Although the magazine name has changed to Premier Youthwork to reflect that we are part of a family of brands including radio stations, magazines and websites, we are still editorially independent and the content and vision of the magazine remains the same. I am also delighted to announce that our website will be relaunched soon, with access to digital copies of resources and back issues for subscribers, along with other fun bits and bobs. Stay tuned!
