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Art programme for human trafficking victims helps them overcome ordeal

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Inaugurated on May 10 by Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Silent Voices IV exhibition will continue until May 14.

Published: Wed 13 May 2015, 12:58 AM

Updated: Tue 13 Aug 2024, 3:16 PM

  • By
  • Silvia Radan/staff Reporter

Art pieces titled Skittles, done by residents of Ewa’s Shelter for Victims of Human Trafficking in Abu Dhabi. — Supplied photo

A painting of happy, laughing, teasing Smurf characters and bright-coloured flowers can bring nothing but smiles on a viewer’s face. Until you read the caption below: “I wish I could be a child again”.

The wish, and the painting, comes from a 19-year-old girl, ST, with a story far too common. Promised a bright, prosperous future in the UAE, she left her homeland for the UAE expecting a good job with a good salary.

The people who made the promise were compatriots and part of a gang of human traffickers. When she arrived, her passport was confiscated and she was locked up in an apartment and forced into prostitution.

ST managed to escape and is now safe in a government-backed shelter, the Ewa’s Shelter for Victims of Human Trafficking, where she is with hundreds of other women and girls, with similar stories. They are undergoing a rehabilitation programme before going back home.

My Soul is Free ... artwork on human trafficking victims.

“Ewa provides social assistance to victims by securing a safe shelter, peace of mind and necessary support to help them overcome psychological and physical trauma caused by violence, suppression and neglect,” said Sara Shuhail, general-director.

The charitable organisation running under the UAE Red Crescent Authority’s umbrella, has four shelters, three in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah for women and children and one for men in Abu Dhabi, all victims of human trafficking.

Four years ago Ewa decided to give the victims something positive, something that got them to smile again, a nice memory to take back home, that would somewhat help heal the sadness caused by the horrific ordeal they have been through. Thus, Ewa got together with the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF) and established an art programme for the victims at the shelters. Now, for the fourth consecutive year, an art exhibition — Silent Voices IV — with works from all Ewa’s ladies is organised at the Yas Mall’s Pearl Court in Abu Dhabi.

Inaugurated on May 10 by Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the exhibition will continue until May 14. All 80 pieces of artwork on display are for sale, with proceeds going towards Ewa shelters, which are non-profitable. To protect their identity, for their own safety, the victims could not be present at the exhibition and only their initials could be signed on their artworks. “In certain cases, some of the proceeds go to the victims, too,” said Jennifer Simon, a professional artist based in UAE, who has been working with the Ewa victims, teaching them how to create art, ever since the project started. “We had a young woman once, who was studying medicine, but her husband died and she came here, hoping to support her children, promised a good salary working as a waitress. Instead, she ended up in the hands of human traffickers,” said Simon.

“She did a painting while she was at Ewa, which was bought by a lady, who heard her story. The buyer was so moved that apart from paying for the painting, she gave the young woman enough money for her to continue her medical studies back home.”

Another Ewa victim got so involved with the art programme that upon her return to her home country she started working in an art gallery. “I love working with them! This has been the most rewarding job I’ve ever done. Most of them, when they arrive at Ewa, are very shy. They are sad and depressed and it takes a lot of encouragement to get them to work,” said Simon.

“Most of them are between 19 and 30 years old — some are still girls, not women yet!” Simon tries to make the art sessions fun, to lift up the spirit and it often works. The ladies tend to encourage and help each other, but there is also a bit of competition among them. They usually stay at the shelter between one week and over a month, depending on how much time they need for rehabilitation. Sometimes, when one of them leaves, her unfinished artwork is taken over by someone else. For the Silent Voices IV, 24 of Ewa’s victims put their heart and soul into these artworks - canvases as well as painted tables, chairs and plates. “They could not be here, but they can hardly wait for the news of the exhibition. They’ve been excited about it ever since we started preparing for it,” mentioned Simon. -silvia@khaleejtimes.com



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