You may choose
to look the other
way but you can
never say again
that you did
not know.
– William Wilberforce, English politician,
philanthropist, and a leader of the
movement to stop the slave trade
A family portrait shows a father with hands dyed black, and his two sons with red and
blue. These slaves in the textile industry, forced to submerge armfuls of silk into toxic
chemical dyes with no regulations, develop crippling illnesses. Uttar Pradesh, India.
“I’ve witnessed some pretty awful things.
I’m there to shine a light on them. The abolition-
ists are the ones with the skills to liberate these
people, and they are doing that successfully. So,
I had to make that delineation.”
Out of Lisa’s vast experiences with indig-
enous cultures in more than 100 countries on
six continents came her founding of the Human
Thread Foundation. Its mission is to educate the
public and build awareness about human dignity
and slavery through interactive exhibitions
and programming. Although the internet and
social media have brought the world’s suffering
directly into our homes, it is not uncommon to
experience a certain “outrage fatigue.” We are at
the point in human history, however, where we
cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the plight
of millions of human beings who are enslaved.
When asked if Lisa had any insight into how
a person could enslave another human being,
she said she believed the problem stemmed from
“being disconnected and treating someone as
“other” based on skin color, lack of wealth, or
religion. To call someone other allows and justi-
fies the behavior that allows for atrocities, like
the slaveholders who enslave children in the
fishing villages I have visited. They treat their
own children of the same age well, but the slave
children are treated like donkeys.”
We are more alike than we are different.
Knowing that there is only less than a one
percent variation on all human DNA, it is hard
to look at these images like these and not be
moved. Lisa Kristine provides 14 powerful
actions steps to help at: enslavedexhibitions.
com/take-action. One is to educate ourselves on
trafficking and slavery and another is to host
an awareness event to watch and discuss films,
such as the movie SOLD, which is loosely based
on Lisa’s experiences as a photographer wit-
nessing sex trafficking and slavery.
For more information about Lisa’s numer-
ous books, exhibitions, and the Human Thread
Foundation, go to: LisaKristine.com
Lori Rubenstein, JD, PCC has been a member of the Sedona
International City of Peace, a mediator, forgiveness teacher,
legacy workshop facilitator, and author of three transformational
books including Forgiveness: Heal Your Past and Find the Peace
You Deserve.
IMAGINE
l
Fall 2018 15