Remembering, acknowledging and standing against slavery
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
BY LAUREN MARTIN
Salvation Army national managers Adrian Kistan and Sue Hodges have shared personal family stories of slavery at a powerful gathering at Redfern Territorial Headquarters in Sydney that marked the UN International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Adrian, General Manager of Ministry Resourcing and Support, told those gathered on Wednesday that his family originated in India, but that his great-grandparents emigrated to South Africa when both countries were under British colonial rule.
“They were promised a good life, but it was far from the truth,” Adrian shared.
“When they arrived, they were sent to work as indentured workers in the sugar cane farms. The nickname they were given were ‘coolies’, which translated to being slaves …
It was really poor conditions … far from the dream they were sold when they were in India.”
Adrian shares his story, which included slides of his great-grandparents’ experiences.
Sue, who is The Salvation Army Reconciliation Action Plan and Projects Manager, told her story of growing up on an Aboriginal mission “in a house with dirt floors and flattened oil pans to make the shell of the humpy, and the potato sacks would help to keep out the wind and the cold”.
Her mother, who worked as a domestic servant, told Sue that she didn’t believe she was being paid correctly. “Sometimes she said [her pay was] substituted by the property owners with eggs, milk and sometimes beef. She never questioned them for fear of losing her own children.”
Slavery and slavery-like conditions were the subject of the Redfern ceremony, which was organised by The Salvation Army’s Modern Slavery stream.
Sherry Wanjiru, the Lived Experience Project Officer in the stream, told those gathered that slavery has not ended, it has just “adapted and become more complex”.
“Today, modern slavery can look like an opportunity that feels too good to be true; it can look like a debt that keeps growing no matter how hard someone works … underpaid or unpaid labour, isolation, the removal of choice … and often it exists in plain sight.” – Sherry Wanjiru
She urged people to recognise the signs of modern slavery and respond.
The Salvation Army provides a range of specialist services for people who are at risk of, experiencing or have experienced modern slavery in Australia. This includes the country’s first and only safehouse that accommodates survivors of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices. It also has Australia’s new national hotline and support service, the Additional Referral Pathway for confidential information and assistance (1800 000 277).
Major Robyn Black, the NSW/ACT Divisional Commander, spoke about being proud of The Salvation Army’s longstanding commitment to responding to modern slavery, since establishing the safehouse in 2008.
“There is a need in Australia and in our own small way we have been able to play our part,” she said.
“The Salvation Army’s response is guided by the international Fight for Freedom strategic plan, aiming for all personnel to be able to identify and respond appropriately to people experiencing modern slavery.”
At the end of the ceremony, Major Melanie Wren led those gathered in a time of reflection that culminated in the lighting of three candles in memory of those affected in the past and the present.
“As colleagues and friends who work in The Salvation Army, may we each do our best to embody justice in action, working with compassion and humility to end modern slavery together,” she said.
TSA personnel can learn more about how to identify and respond to modern slavery by completing the 40-minute modern slavery LEARN module.
To get in touch with the modern slavery specialist team to ask questions or seek support, you can contact 1800 000 277 or email arp@salvationarmy.org.au
