LAL BATTI Express, a play

On the occasion of the World Day Against Trafficking in Human Beings, this July 30, 2019, the non-profit organization Samilia is organizing an exceptional and unique performance in Belgium: the play “Lal Batti Express”

The non-profit organization Samilia, a new player in the associative landscape, has just been created with the aim of implementing field projects to raise awareness and prevent human trafficking in Belgium.

This new non-profit organization is fully in line with the direction set by the Samilia Foundation, whose main activity aims to alert institutional authorities and the general public to the emergence of phenomena related to human trafficking in many countries and, in particular, to develop upstream prevention actions against all forms of exploitation that result from it (sexual exploitation, economic exploitation through forced labor, exploitation of child labor, exploitation in the sports world, etc.).

“During a recent trip to Switzerland, we met Robin, an incredible young woman who runs a shelter for survivors of sexual exploitation, most of whom were victims from adolescence, in Mumbai, India.

They have put together a play called ‘Lal Batti Express’ in which they play out their own lives with their emotions, illustrating the many trials they have gone through and their path to resilience.

They travel the world spreading their message of hope through this play and do us the immense honor of stopping in Belgium to share this unique moment with us,” explains Sophie Jekeler, President of the new non-profit organization Samilia.

Kranti (meaning “revolution” in Hindi) is an Indian NGO that empowers these young women, former victims of human trafficking, to become agents of social change in these high-risk areas of Mumbai, for their children and their communities.

The UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Organized Crime), also active in the fight against human trafficking, offered its support to the non-profit organization Samilia in the implementation in Brussels of this humanitarian show. On the evening of the performance, Ozark Henri, Belgium’s Goodwill Ambassador against Human Trafficking, will be present to support this important cause. The show will take place this Tuesday, July 30, 2019, at La Tricoterie, a socially engaged cooperative that readily welcomed the initiative presented by the non-profit organization Samilia to host the event. After the performance, the Samilia team and the young women from Kranti will go to the Grand-Place in Brussels, which will be illuminated in blue from 10:30 p.m. in support of the UNODC’s “Blue Heart” campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking and its consequences for society.