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Campaigners Nicola Smith and Marie Kypri visited Bahrain this week to continue their fight against human trafficking and sexual abuse by promoting a range of emotive rag dolls made by victims in a bid to spread awareness.
The women, based in Cyprus, run the Freedom Dolls Initiative (FDI) and were invited to the kingdom by The Very Reverend Christopher Butt, dean of St Christopher’s Cathedral, and by Angela Murray, an author and special project coordinator at the cathedral, to share their stories and experiences with various charitable groups while also rallying support for the cause.
FDI was set up two-and-a-half years ago by a team of volunteers to initially help women who have been sexually exploited through human trafficking and now highlights the issue on an international stage.
FDI president Nicola, a Brit who lives in Cyprus and runs a charity shop called Nifty Thrifty, said: “We want to thank everyone in Bahrain for their hospitality. We were made to feel very welcome.
“While the Freedom Dolls Initiative’s main working relationship is with St Christopher’s Cathedral, we have talked about linking up with many other affiliated churches and other organisations. That’s the whole point of this exercise, coming over here to network and get to know more people as well.
“Also, we wanted to thank those that have sold and purchased our dolls in person and for all their hard work because it’s their hard work that has brought us here which is much appreciated. This has been a fantastic experience. It was also great to meet and be able to share our experiences with so many different charity groups and organisations; to see that we are not alone and we all go through similar challenges.
“The Freedom Dolls are making their way all over the world, not just Bahrain and Cyprus, but also in places such as the UK, Finland, Sweden, South Africa, Canada, the US and New Zealand.
“Ideally, I would like for our dolls to be made in every major city in the world, in every major country by other victims so that they too can earn a living. The money doesn’t come to Cyprus; instead it stays in their country to help victims.”
Nicola and Marie brought a variety of Freedom Dolls including girl dolls and novelty ones including, golfers, pirates and brides to share with members of the church and other organisations.
Each doll, which takes around five hours to put together, is made by survivors in safe houses using donated supplies of cloth and wool on sewing machines given to the cause.
Nicola said: “Freedom Dolls simply started because the victims didn’t have an income. When a victim goes through the rescue process in Cyprus, complete their statements and are registered for social services, it can take up to 10 months for them to get any money.
“So, what do they do and how do they survive? Making these dolls is just one way. Not only is it giving them financial help and support it is also proving therapeutic because we ask them to express themselves using the dolls. If they are having a bad day, they can reflect that in the doll which is why some might be crying or sad. We all have bad days. We have funny ones, happy ones or emotional ones.
“They make these dolls and they get a donation from us to help them pay their rent, pay their bills, feed and clothe their children and so on.”
The dolls have proved popular with children and adult collectors and being snapped up from BD7 to BD10 each. Many purchased as gifts for family and friends have even started making their way around the world with little passports attached as tags. Any profits made by the sale of dolls are donated to the victims.
Some women have even had their wedding dresses replicated on the dolls to offer as unique presents for their bridesmaids.
Angela said: “The dolls that were sold in Bahrain aren’t necessarily for people that will be staying here. One lady who lives in Saudi Arabia will buy 10 to 15 dolls and pass them on to her friends. There is a Canadian lady who purchased a dozen or so dolls and has taken them back home to Canada. An American lady also has taken 10 or so home to Texas. So the dolls are travelling and the message is spreading.”
The dolls were first spotted in the kingdom when samples were brought over by expat British business consultant David Axtell, chairman of the Bahrain Anglican Church Council, a few years ago when he came across them at The Anglican Diocese of Cyprus gathering.
Angela explained: “St Paul’s Cathedral in Nicosia and St Christopher’s Cathedral here are twinned. David saw the dolls on sale and offered to spread the message to Bahrain. So, as an experiment he brought 10 dolls back to see if they would sell and they were snapped up within five minutes after one Friday morning service.
“David then asked me to take this relationship forward. When I went to Cyprus I brought back another consignment of 20 or so to see how they would go. That’s how it gradually evolved.
“Over the years, Chris, I and were explaining the dolls content to the best of our abilities but then, at the end-of-the-day, we had people saying that they would like to learn more and they would really like to meet the people behind the project in person.
“So we thought, yes, what a sensible suggestion. We invited them to come to Bahrain so that people who are interested could meet Marie and Nicola, chat face-to-face, share stories and learn more.”
During their stay, Marie, FDI’s logistic coordinator, staged a child-friendly presentation about the initiative at the St Christopher’s Cathedral Friday morning all-age service.
Marie said: “There is a need for our charity organisation in Cyprus because there are a lot of girls of different ages and nationalities being trafficked into the country.”
Once a victim is rescued they are taken to a safe house where they stay for up to four weeks. During this period the authorities check their stories and when they are eventually processed they are left to fend for themselves.
Marie added: “Once the victim is processed through the police and put in the government safe house she doesn’t have any support or aftercare of any kind. This is why the Freedom Dolls Initiative proves very important.
“We produce a full rehabilitation programme. When the police bring the victims to us, we put them in another safe house or an apartment depending on their psychological status.
“Depending on the level of psychological and physical abuse, each victim is treated differently. Often counselling, one-to-one care, is very important as their mental health needs to be addressed. “We also provide classes in computing, cooking, gardening and, of course, sewing our freedom dolls. Whatever they wish to do we will work closely with them to rebuild their confidence.”
On Saturday, the ladies met with the Ecumenical Conference of Charity Organisation and then on Sunday evening, more than 30 people attended a Living Room Dialogue at the The Deanery on the Cathedral compound in Manama to learn more about the horrors of human trafficking.
Nicola, who has been helping prostitutes and trafficking victims for the past 16 years, said: “We have about 10 victims that I am in contact with at the moment. Some live with me 24/7 and some are in the apartments.”
One survivor called Maria, and described as the organisation’s best doll maker, also shared her first-hand experiences on the visit. Originally from Cameroon, she now lives in safety with her two children.
“Maria was trafficked by her father to Cyprus in her early 20s (after being beaten up and having her fingers broken). Since she now has a child of Cypriot nationality, she can stay until the child is 18.
“These dolls help her family,” Nicola explained. “Maria is now teaching other victims how to make them and she is earning a little extra for that too. It has been a very therapeutic process for Maria and this is another part of the dolls.”
Nicola also shared with GulfWeekly another success story near and dear to her heart. She is currently fostering one of the youngest victims, a 17-year-old and her elder sister.
“One was given to a bar to work and when she came home she would get beaten if she returned without money,” she explained.
Nicola and Marie also received what they described as ‘a fantastic phone call’ during their Bahrain stay, informing them that the girl has started a full-time job.
Nicola and Marie’s week also included networking with various groups in the kingdom such as the Migrant Workers Protection Society and The Palm Association, as well as meeting high-level embassy officials, including Caryl Tuma, political officer of the US Embassy in Manama.
Dean Chris added: “The programme we set up for them was to meet really significant people who are also involved in working with vulnerable people in all sorts of ways.
“I think people are really encouraged by having Nicola and Marie among us and I believe it’s been encouraging for them as well to be in a community that is interested and wanting to learn more about this subject.”
To help the dedicated FDI team, which Nicola believes is the reason why the organisation is flourishing, Dean Chris has also been selling ‘Freedom Ties’ – made using fabric for red ghutras, the traditional material used for Arabic head scarves, with the proceeds going to good causes, including freedom dolls.
The FDI team also brought over an assortment of beaded key chains, bracelets and necklaces made by victims alongside the dolls.
The women, who will fly out of Bahrain later today, hope through the Freedom Dolls to raise enough money to open a new shelter in Larnaca and a community centre. The aim is to provide a safe environment for the women while they go through the recovery process and consequent court proceedings where they are witnesses in cases which can take up to three years to conclude.
Donations can be made on their website www.freedom-dolls.com and they can also be found on Facebook at Freedom Dolls Initiative page or on Twitter @FDinitiative and the dolls are also available from The Bookcase with all proceeds going to the cause.
