Summer 2022
Editorial Our team has worked incredibly hard over the last term in order to create this latest edition. It is centred around the theme of History, in order to reflect Holocaust Memorial Day, Genocide Awareness week and International Women’s Day, and, thus, includes several works linked to themes of slavery, World War II, and displaced and persecuted peoples, as well as an interview with HRH Princess Eugenie and Julia de Boinville, co-founders of The Anti-Slavery Collective. It is an edition that we think showcases especially well the extraordinary literary and artistic talent within the Marlborough College community. A special thanks goes to HRH Princess Eugenie and Julia de Boinville, Rachel Long, and Rosie Scott for so kindly allowing us to interview them. We sincerely hope that you enjoy the outstanding work in here as much as we do. Saffron Rowell and Hannah Keighley (Co-editors of Piccalilli)
Lucia Harrison
Rapha de Segundo
The Lie of the Sonnet 116 “If this be error or upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.” Minds cannot be bound to one another, For they rot and evolve with coming years. He started off so sweet but starts to smother Her; With time it will only end in tears. As rosy lips and cheeks begin to pale, His patience wears, temper rising faster. As rich hair thin, lustre growing stale, He shouts and sways, for he is her “master”. She once believed his words of rhyme and love; Surely no man that wrote so sweet could be A fickle wretch, so incapable of love. She wished, so hard, she wished she could be free There was no man she hated such as he. Millie Clayton Inspired by William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 116’
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Isdi Newall
Ish Radkevitch
Illegal Where is the baby’s mother? I can’t See her. She is gone… Hold on Kwame… And you, Little brother. The harness goes around your chest. Just stay still. <Let me guide you up> Take my brother And the baby. <baby> Wait! We also need my Brother! KWAME It will be Kwame’s Turn next. He must be next. KWAME Kwame! I see Kwame go under… Then he fights Back to the surface. I never see him again. William Marsh
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The Paperweight Gazing, gazing, gazing. It was a message from hundreds of years ago: An inkling of hope. He watched the playfully pink coral standing proud, The fire from behind painted an orange hue. It was frozen in time. Gazing, gazing, gazing. Every inch, Every crevasse was suffocating the yellowing resin. But, it was beautiful. The glass engulfed it like the sun shone on her. He observed the brittle skeleton of the coral. It was once tough, Now, fragile. The past encased in glass. Gazing, gazing, gazing. It was as rare as her. Yet, despite its delicacy, it survived: A glowing ember of hope. It had survived, so may he. Jazmine Simkins
Kitty Agnew
The Paperweight The past and I held by the scarlet coral, Embedded in the solid crystal. We see one another – like the astrologer observes the stars. We see one another – though the reflection on the glass. Let us walk into the glassy world To reach the sanctuary. The song of the paperweight Awoke me. The beloved one beside me Hugged me. Tightly. Tangibly. The wind kissed her face Vividly as the wave flows beside the coral Whilst it was still in the hug of the ocean. I LOVE YOU She held my hand. Crystals shed from her eyes Dampened the bed. Wet were our graves. Fragments of glass scattered over the floor. Alas! The coral drowns in darkening water. Forever. We are sung by a song without a voice. Ryan Wong
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Rapha de Segundo
Mati Phillips
Mushrooms M – ust we hide from all but so few in this world? U – nwanted, unneeded, unwelcome in our home. S – ilently we sit, yet still you hiss with repulse. H – owever much we prove that all we want is peace: denied. R – eaching with your legs you kick us from our stumps. O – ur toxic gases release from where you broke us. O – nly very little see that it’s not our fault. M – ust we hide from all but so few in this world? Scarlett Buchanan
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Fleur Halstead
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Interview with Rosie Shorrock Introduction Rosie Shorrock (known to us as Mrs Scott) is a contemporary abstract artist based in Marlborough, Wiltshire. She studied Fine Art and History of Art at university. Shorrock is now a part time teacher in the History of Art department at Marlborough College and a part-time artist. Shorrock creates a range of vibrant pieces inspired by the world around her. She aims for people to interpret her work in their own ways. When did you first know you wanted to become an artist? It was always my favourite subject at school and I never questioned that it was what I wanted to do. I didn’t know what kind of artist I wanted to be. At one point, I wanted to be a jewellery designer, then a graphic designer, but, whilst I was at University, I decided that I wanted to focus on painting. What inspires your artwork? My world around me. It can vary slightly from strange things like bookshelves to washing hanging on a line, or walking the dog and looking at the amazing landscape. It’s not only what I see, but also what I feel, how I experience the world, even things like the way a shadow falls and the shape it may cast.
Does a particular artist inspire you? It has always been Matisse who has particularly inspired me. It’s all about the way he places colours next to each other. He uses colour like no one else. A painting that captivates me is his painting ‘Interior with Goldfish Bowl’ (1914), which is why in some of my most recent paintings I have used a similar dark blue. I’m also very influenced by Howard Hodgkin’s work. Is there a common theme amongst your artworks? Colour, but it’s also all about the consistency of paint and the different ways of applying it. When I was at university, I had an inspirational teacher Dexter Dalwood. He talked to me about creating an artistic vocabulary like a language. There are different ways you can apply paint and use your paintbrush. There is a natural way in which you apply paint, and this should be challenged by experimenting with different techniques. What kind of style would you say your art is? Abstract colourist.
Does your work have any secondary meaning to it?
Honor Bagshaw and Ella Cadogan
Yes, but not one specific meaning. It can be interpreted in different ways by everyone who looks at it. They refer to times in my life. It depends on where I’ve been travelling, but in the past two years they have been more landscape based because I haven’t been travelling and I was walking every day in lockdown. What piece are you currently working on? I work on 12-15 pieces at a time all in my studio. There are two large ones on the go right now and they could take 2-3 years to finish. I don’t constantly work on just one painting, I move around and become obsessed when they’re near completion. The reason why I have lots of art on the go at the same time is because it stops me from over working one piece and I end up using up any extra paint. What does your art mean to you? I suppose painting is the place where I completely lose myself. I learnt quite early on that although I wanted to be an artist, I didn’t like being alone in the studio all day, as I needed social interaction. That is why I became a teacher. I always knew I had to have art in my life and I adore teaching History of Art.
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Sophie Dunlop
Clocks There are no clocks in this room. No reference to when I am or where I am. But, there’s a buzzing in the light. You can lose yourself without clocks They can ground you. Keep you safe in the ticking. It can be so soft. the ticking It can lull you to sleep. 1–2–3–1–2–3 It can be sweet. hush a bye hush a bye hush a bye But, there are no clocks in the room. I am not allowed clocks in the room. And the lights are too bright And I can hear them. They are moaning at me groaning and moaning and groaning and moaning When I close my eyes, I can feel them in the back of my head. It hurts so much So, I don’t close them. Saffron Rowell
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Daisy Krens
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Christopher Friis
Rats They always followed Everywhere he turned. Behind the wall of darkness they lurked. Ready to feast on his rough-cut Flesh. No mercy given, No life left untouched. Their fur was fixed in a stiff stench of grease, Their teeth were grass-stained, yellow and green, Their eyes as dead as the victims they stole, Their tails pasty, Their bellies large. Working their way into homes, They watch and Wait For a small sign of hope. Once found, They would scamper and sink teeth into Flesh, Until there was nothing left But bone. Bella Rowell
Background to the translation of ‘Kette der Tage’ by Marnie Longfield This extremely powerful poem is written by a Holocaust survivor called Edgar Kupfer-Koberwitz who was born in the town of Koberwitz in Germany in 1906. In 1940, he was sent to Dachau concentration camp, which is situated just outside Munich. During his time in Dachau, Kupfer wrote multiple pieces depicting his experience in the camp. His most famous manuscript is known as the Dachau Diaries, which he had to keep hidden when he was writing it. When the Americans liberated the camps, his manuscripts were found and used during the Nuremberg Trials, which led to twenty-four Nazi officials being sentenced to death, twenty sentenced to lifelong imprisonment and ninety-eight others were given prison sentences. This poem expresses the troubles that he faced during his time in the concentration camp and vividly depicts the overall impact this dire regime had on peoples’ lives.
Lucia Harrison
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Kette der Tage Und ein jeder Tag ist so grau und trüb und ein jeder Tag schleicht dahin die Tage rinnen, wie Wasser durchs Sieb, stehlen sich fort wie ein trauriger Dieb, kaum bleibt uns ein Rest noch von Sinn. – Und ein jeder Tag löscht uns etwas aus, einen Funken in unserer BrustWir sagen nur noch: „die Liebe -das Haus« doch es klingt nicht echt, das Echo bleibt aus, wir empfinden nicht mehr die Lust. – Die Tage fallen, wie Hämmer so schwer und schmieden uns nützlich und platt es sind schon zu viel und werden noch mehr, die Tage sind grau, sind öd und sind leer dem, der ein Fühlen noch hat. Da werden wir sagen: „Die Welt ist dumm, sie kann uns nicht mehr verstehn.« Wir werden nicht fragen: wieso, warum? werden allein sein und eben darum tiefer in Einsamkeit gehn. Edgar Kupfer-Koberwitz
A translation of an extract of ‘Kette der Tage’ by Tatiana Yan
A Chain of Days And each day is so grey and dull And each day creeps past The days flow, like water through a sieve, Stealing it away like a sad thief, hardly leaving a remainder of sense for us. – And each day we lose something, A spark in our chest – Yet we only say: “The love – the house”. But it doesn’t sound real, the echo stays out, we feel no more the longing. The days fall so hard like hammers And forge us useful and flat There are already too many and will become even more, The days are grey, are bleak and are blank To those who still have a feeling. We will say: “The world is bovine, it can no longer understand us.” We will not ask: how so, why? We’ll be alone and thus even Deeper into isolation we go.
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Tom Phelps
The Dark behind the Light The Indian sun shone through the grimy factory window, refracting off the dark cracks on the walls and blinding her vision. The girl unrolled from her rigid chair releasing the tight strain in her neck. The automated sewing machine below her hummed disapprovingly as she took a break. Sweat slowly dribbled down her neck like the final factory child waiting for someone to claim them. Small scarlet stains covered her machine from the prick of the needle against her index finger. Her index finger was now a pincushion. Stitching around the details of the scratchy cotton material, she was careful to avoid the lace around the collar. Her eyelids were a burden to hold. She followed her muscle memory around the sleeve of the dress, and the next one, and the next one. His voice filled the room, sending her jolting forwards. A smile filled her face; the room brightened. Yet, it was the artificial light you find in a surgical theatre rather than the natural glow you would find at sunset. The man took extra care in acknowledging every girl in the factory. With one eye still on the man, they returned to their machines, hoping he would see them working. Give them praise. Delicate, hopeful whispers floated through the air, broken by the click of the girl’s neck as she set back into her sewing arch. Katie Lee-Smith
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EFJT
Dreams I am everywhere and nowhere I stalk you every night I am your greatest desire I am your deepest fear I am aware I know everything you do I am here to guide the sandman I am here to rest your weary eyes I am the silence that pounds in your ears I scream with no sound I am the beating of a soundless heart in your ear I am the “nothing” that harms you I am an amalgamation I grace you with my presence every night I am loved by fools for my kindest heart I am hated by you for my twisted stories I am the dreams that you fear most I consume and twist your every thought I am a monster Yet, I am Nothing Nina Watson
Dom Cox
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Theatre Review: Dr Semmelweis Performed at the Bristol Old Vic theatre in Spring 2022, Dr Semmelweis was a passionate and urgent production based on an original idea by Mark Rylance. The play explored the revolutionary medical discovery of germ theory. The original Dr Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor, made the discovery after noticing the recurrent deaths of new-borns and mothers, caused by puerperal (childbed) fever. In the continued aftermath of COVID-19, the play contained relevant themes surrounding infection, sterility, and survival. The beginning of the play opened with a flashback of Dr Semmelweis’s turbulent experiences whilst working in the general hospital of Vienna. Ghosts, in the form of dancers, flooded the stage, creating an eerie atmosphere and representing the everrising number of deaths of the patients, which Dr Semmelweis was unable to prevent. The ghosts haunted the doctor and caused him to go ever more desperate and inspiring him to find the cause of their suffering. Dr Semmelweis began noticing differences in the number of deaths between two wards – the midwife’s ward and doctor’s ward, and no one believed there was a reason behind this. Through Semmelweis’s discovery of hygiene, he prevented the high mortality rate within the ward, and indicated to the public the necessity for this procedure to be utilised in daily life. He was a pioneer in bringing to light the plight of poor women in childbirth, even when he was ignored and vilified by the medical community at the time. Rylance’s performance transcended the specific context of Semmelweis’s life, drawing parallels to the complexities of pandemics and our understanding of disease. Lily Blosse-Lynch and Tinka Barber
Amelia Surtees
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Christopher Friis
The Diary the diary is a gateway to another world forgiveness there is only loneliness not even a fleeting hope a day a flash the diary is a gateway to another world an instant a second is all I want to see the future unfold the diary is a gateway to another world you once promised me forever you once promised me infinity to forever die without a trace the diary is a gateway to another world but the curtain closes vaporised the diary is a gateway to another world there is only fear the diary danced around the room I wrote I love you why the diary is a gateway to another world Lucas Dingley
Lucia Harrison
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My Soldier Love The way he moves, The way his hair sits oh so perfectly on his forehead. His soldier cap: Always crooked. His smile Brightens the misery of this war. Those dark eyes As if you were looking into outer space. Caring and sweet, As any gentlemen should be. His stubbornness Gets the best of him. I see right through His anger. Showing off to impress Me. I loved him. He loved me. Then the war Took him away. A bullet? A bomb? How am I supposed to know? I am disgracing his honour; His integrity; His bravery; His name. I am without the boy of my dreams, My soulmate, My Soldier Love. Please take me from this miserable life. Please take me from this misery, Please take me from this, Please take me, Please. Phoebe Taggart Winner of the Form OM Writing Competition 2022. A piece inspired by Siegfried Sassoon’s ‘Suicide in the Trenches’.
Incoming “You’d better close that thing before he sees you on it again,” Milton whispered loudly, pointing a finger at me as he walked past. The rest of his wrinkly hands were wrapped around the edges of a cardboard box overflowing with carrots and onions. I watched him disappear around the corner into the restaurant kitchen and I automatically counted silently. “What took you so long?” I heard my dad shout at Milton before I got to three. I didn’t hear Milton answer and I didn’t expect he would, considering that he’d been gone exactly as long as it took to walk from the kitchen to the storeroom and back again to get the veg my dad had asked for. Every day the same thing and Milton had been working in that kitchen for the past fifteen years. I didn’t get it. A message flashed up on my phone from my best friend Emmanuel, “Hi!” I slid the phone under the marble counter I was sitting at and typed back, “Did you get back ok?” “Why, do you wish I was there?” I must have sighed loud enough to hear over the digital radio station playing weird French Christmas music behind the bar, crackling as the reception faded in and out. Susan looked up from where she was wiping the counter at the other end and made her way towards me. “Can you lift that up for me my love?” she asked, pouting her lips until I could see the thick layer of red lipstick crease. It seemed like everyone had it in for the brick of a black laptop open in front of me. I picked the laptop up with one hand to let her mop up underneath. She left a damp trail down the counter as she carried on with cleaning, before the dinner crowd showed up. Knowing that I had the laptop in one hand and the phone in my other, I reached over the counter to grab a paper napkin with the spare fingers from my phone hand. I dried the counter off before I set everything down again. Susan had been working there almost as long as Milton, but her attention to detail hadn’t improved at all. My dad never pulled her up on it either, probably because he liked when she batted her fake eyelashes at him and worked really long hours, just to be able to say she was part of his team. I looked at the email inbox on the laptop in front of me again. It was hard to see. My mum had been terrible about anything to do with technology, and she’d kept using some ancient email tool with a tiny font, even
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though I’d tried to tell her how to fix it every time she complained. I automatically started to try and make it bigger now but then I caught myself. Now that she was gone, it should stay her way. Who has nothing left of a dead parent but an old laptop, I wondered? It wasn’t fair that the only thing to remind me of her was a terrible email inbox. Maybe not the only thing. My phone flashed again. “What u doing?” Emmanuel asked. I’d never been to Emmanuel’s family house, which was not surprising because it was 4,500 miles away near Lagos. I knew it was like a palace that even had gold taps in the bathrooms. His mum was a TV presenter, so there were pictures of her all over the internet and he had five younger sisters who all wanted to be just like their mum. He’d come to England for university to study history and get away from all of that. I don’t think he’d ever expected to find a best mate who was barely allowed to sleep on a lumpy sofa in his dad’s flat. The email subject line I was looking for in my mum’s inbox said, “Question.” It was the only email in the past weeks that wasn’t an ad or a newsletter. “Marceline,” it said, “I hope you don’t mind me getting in touch. I’ve been looking for you for a very long time but perhaps in the wrong country based on this email address I found. If you are the daughter of Walter Schmidt, I believe you may be my half-sister. Please reply and I can explain. Yours, Otto Schmidt.” It was signed with an address in Berlin and a phone number. I hit reply and a new blank window came up, with the sender showing up as MarSchm@orange.fr. I didn’t know how to explain to Otto that I knew next to nothing about the accident my mum had been in with some random boyfriend, or that it was just one more piece of bad timing around everything to do with her that Otto had emailed four weeks too late. A loud group of businesspeople blew in the front door for dinner with the rain and the dark, distracting me. I took my phone again. “Think I should email the guy?” I asked Emmanuel. Dots showed up on the phone screen right away, “What if he’s psycho?” My dad came out of the kitchen but stopped at the end of the bar, wiping his hands on his apron like he was desperate to get something horrible off them. He looked up at the new customers like they were intruding and then shot the same look at me and the laptop before he went back the way he came. “What if he’s not?” I typed back. Kai Neu Winner of the Remove Short Story Competition 2021.
Scarlet Thurner
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Interview with Rachel Long What influenced you to become a poet? “Well, I didn’t know I wanted to become a poet until after I had done two degrees, when I applied for my Masters. I always loved reading and I always wanted to write books. I have been writing poetry exclusively since 2014. I began my poetry because of a workshop I did with the poet, the late Jean “Binta” Breeze. She was over from Jamaica and taught me about ‘dub’ poetry, which I didn’t know existed. I fell in love with the way Jean had no distinction between verse and speech - we can be in the poem all the time - I love that! Jean’s poems were plain, but not in a bad way, communicating something clearly, and saying something essential and urgent, which I am hugely influenced by.” Are you the persona? “I wonder what is the difference between knowing the persona and not? What does authenticity matter in terms of who I am? Why is that important to know who and how much of me is in there? I feel poets get that question more than novelists and I wonder why that is? The poet, Sharon Olds coined her poetry as “apparently personal”, and I love that, even if it is based on me, I don’t like to say. The poet, Caroline Bird says, “All of these poems are true, but they contain no facts.” I love how it can be so emotionally and physiologically true to your experience, but there’s no facts.” The Octavia Poetry Collective for Women of Colour, what was the initiative behind it? “Sadness and frustration propelled the creation of Octavia. I had been so looking forward to embarking on my MA and studying at a higher level. I applied for the course with excitement, and I remember being quite disappointed with it. It was less that it was bad, it was just the same. It wasn’t a magical place where I could truly be creative. The reading list was stiff and I felt like a secondclass citizen writing poetry. It was same old, same old. Where were the women? Where were the black and brown writers in the reading list? After a workshop with Jean Breeze, I got more involved with ‘Apples and Snakes’, which is a poetry organization of spoken word. I went to more poetry events and nights, which was an exciting time, meeting other young women. Lots of our stories were the same even at different institutions. So, I thought I should create a space where I don’t have to deal with misogynistic comments from men in the classroom. I could create my own reading list where we can discuss stuff that sets us on fire. Octavia has been going since 2014, but it’s still alive. However, for me, it’s been very hard to hold a collective with 17 people. Right now, I’m thinking about a new direction for Octavia. Has it had its time? Has it served its purpose?” Tinka Barber and Lily Blosse-Lynch
Christopher Friis
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Dom Cox
Hunger Satisfied It was midnight. I was warmly wrapped up in the comfort of my own bed and protected by the safety of my room. The silence pierced my ears: I felt as if my head was about to burst. But nothing, nothing was worse than the excruciating pain shooting through my stomach. I could feel it turning, twisting and squeezing my body. Groaning in agony, I reached into my drawer… nothing. Absolutely nothing. My fingers desperately scrambled around, trying to find anything, even a crumb. But still, nothing. Only a singular speck of dust cowered in the corner of the drawer. Impulsively, my hand grasped my stomach, which was raging in pain. At the same time, I shoved my head into the pillow beside me, afraid to wake my parents with my cries. There was no way I could go another minute. I had to go downstairs. Jazmine Simkins
Leila Fitzsimmons
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Interview: Anti-Slavery Collective An interview with HRH Princess Eugenie and Julia de Boinville: the founders of The Anti-Slavery Collective whose mission is to eradicate modern slavery for an estimated 40 million people by bringing together changemakers and raising awareness. Q: What inspired you to set up your charity in the first place? Julia: First of all, we were best friends at school, so we were 16, and I was the new girl, and I thought that Euge was nice because she sat next to me on the bus, and everyone else was scary. And when we were…. Eugenie: No, no, that’s not right, I sat next to you because you had cool trainers! I thought they were cool trainers, and I wanted those trainers. You might have thought everyone else was scary, but I thought you had cool trainers on. Julia: Then we fast forward a few years and we had an amazing Sixth Form at Marlborough, and we travelled the world together in our year off. And then when we were 21, we went to Kolkata in India, and we visited the Women’s Interlink Foundation with Eugenie’s mum. We had no idea that human trafficking even existed in our lifetime, let alone in our continent, or in our country, nor in our home city of London, and we always say you cannot un-see what you’ve seen. Once we had witnessed what was going on, learnt about modern slavery, and spoken to survivors, we were so inspired to take action that we came back to England. We just spent as much time as possible meeting people and learning. We would go and visit anyone who would talk to us: whether they worked in law enforcement, or policy, or government, whoever it was, we would go and ask as many questions as possible. And it sort of happened organically from there. The charity was formed and Eugenie: I mean to go back a little further, one of the people that we got to meet on the first trip was the Independent Slavery Commissioner, which was a position we didn’t even know existed. That is someone who works separate to the government who is trying to end slavery in the UK, and the UK actually have a really great track record. So, our personal experience was in Kolkata, but then we got back to the UK, and we saw what
was happening here. It’s pretty incredible that there are people out there already fighting for this cause that has been happening for so many years, and yet people just aren’t aware of it. That was pretty shocking to us. We were taught about slavery, historical slavery, and what that means, and ‘modern slavery’ as a whole new term, with human trafficking fitting into that. So as Jules says, coming back to the UK and meeting the right people, and putting our foot in the door, and talking to NGOs, there are just these incredible organisations fighting on, and have been for years. We met Kevin Bales who is a professor of modern slavery; he’s been working in the field for almost 25 years, maybe more. Q: Linking into the College, was there anything here that inspired you to start the charity? Eugenie: I think that Marlborough, as a whole, fosters unity and friendship, and brings people together, and it empowers you to be able to want to make change. I think it always has, from a young age. I did CCF there, I did the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in the first year, and they are both two incredible schemes that make you want to strive for more. And then when Jules got there we became best friends; I think Marlborough allowed us the freedom to become ourselves, and learn who we are at such a young age, and we were able to spread our wings at Marlborough, and I think it works so hard empowering people to do what they want to achieve, you know? Julia: And I think, to add to that, being in a boarding school, and sharing a dorm, or house with lots of people, does encourage you to be very caring, and conscious of other people. So, I think that it encourages you to think of unity and the greater good. Someone and something bigger than yourself because you are constantly sharing experiences with a large group of people. I think on Wednesday afternoons, do you remember, we used to have to do our elective, whether that be social work, or charity work, or babysitting for parents in Marlborough. There were so many different things that the school was really good at encouraging people to think in a more charitable way. Eugenie: And also, to volunteer, because that was all volunteering. It’s a great place to learn who you want to be I think.
Q: Would you say that you still feel connected to the school? Eugenie: Big time! Julia: Our friendship group, honestly, if you saw our girls’ Christmas lunches every year, it’s all Marlborough girls. We have remained the closest, closest friends, and that would never have happened without Marlborough, so I think in that sense we feel very connected to the school. Q: What’s the main goal that you want your charity to achieve? Julia: I think our overall, long term, overarching goal is to raise awareness of human trafficking as a global epidemic, and every year we’re learning new avenues that we can go into to raise awareness. A big focus for us this year and last year has been education. Working with schools like Marlborough, prep schools, or universities to educate people at a much younger age than when Eugenie and I first became aware of it.
Eugenie: Yeah, the dream, dream, dream would be that we wouldn’t need to have a charity at all, but that’s not the way the world works. As Jules said, raising awareness is so key, and we also want to raise the survivor voice, as that is the real key in the conversation about what we can do to help a survivor of human trafficking and modern slavery, and how we can prioritise their voices for their future happiness. Julia: We always say that we want to become one of the largest global platforms for information and collaboration in the movement. Eugenie: Yeah, and I would say that it’s amazing if you can help one person, so if you can change someone’s life then how amazing is that? To be able to pay that forward through whatever you are doing.
Carina Hand
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Ted Walker
Q: What would you say is the best way to raise awareness about modern slavery? Julia: We always say, “ask the question”. So, if something seems too good to be true, then you want to be curious; ask the question, and don’t be afraid to ask. Q: Thank you, and, I’m sure you can’t give names, but is there any one person you’ve met that has been a survivor of modern slavery that has really stood out to you? Eugenie: There’s loads. One of the reasons for starting this charity and staying involved was a survivor; whose name is Seema. We met her on one of the first days when we began learning about trafficking, and she was so strong, and so incredible, and resilient, and powerful in her own being. We met her in a safe house, and she said, “I want to help with modern slavery, and you guys are doing it too, and that’s amazing.” It uplifted our spirits, her saying, “You can do this.” Julia: Yeah, and I remember when Eugenie and I first met her she was trafficked from a young age, and I think she was about 16 or 17 and she wanted to dedicate the rest of her life to helping others and become a social worker. And I think it was that moment that we saw this person who had been through such a horrific ordeal, who wanted to give back to society and help others in a similar situation to her, that was so inspiring to us both. Eugenie: We have recently worked with an organisation called the Bramber Bakehouse, which is a wonderful organisation that brings survivors together and teaches them how to bake. A lot of the time what you’ll find with survivors is they are having to wait in a ‘holding pattern’ until either they go home, or until they get asylum in the UK, and this bakery course, it gives them hope. It gets them out of their house, it introduces them to friends, it gives them empowerment, and freedom, and allows them to have a life skill that would have been taken away from them. Everything was taken away from them when they were in that situation. So, we met all these survivors, and all of them were so wonderful, and were just so happy, and were taught how to make lemon drizzle cake. That really stuck with us because they were doing something about their
situation. They have been really influential for us as we have kept in touch with some of the survivors we met. Q: On your website you describe modern slavery as a global epidemic, and I think you have said that in the interview as well; what makes it so hard to detect, and why do so few people know about it? Julia: First of all, there’s an estimated 40.3 million people living in slavery today, That’s a huge, huge, huge amount of people. In the days of William Wilberforce [a pioneer of the antislavery movement] people were enslaved by chains and shackles but today people are enslaved through less visible means. People are trapped by threats, coercion, deception, debt, abuse, and so detecting it becomes very, very difficult. We can’t just rely on law enforcement and professionals to detect modern slavery because there aren’t enough law enforcement agents to go around, that’s why they are relying on us; you, me, and everybody to look out for the signs of modern slavery. That’s why so little is known; it’s such a hidden crime, and people know so little about it. In the time that we have been working in this field we have seen incredible change, and a large increase in awareness, and I really hope that continues in the same trajectory. Q: Is there any outstanding work that you’ve done with the Anti-Slavery Collective that you think would be worth knowing about? Julia: Lots! We have visited many safe houses across the UK, and some of the most impactful work that we’ve done is getting to spend time, one-on-one, with survivors. We’ve spoken on different panels, we’ve hosted our own series of talks on ‘Tech Tackles Trafficking’, where we looked at the role of technology helping combat modern slavery. We’ve worked with the US Ambassador for Trafficking of Persons, we’ve worked with various different members of the UN, with the UK Government, and we’ve hosted on-line webinars during lockdown to keep all of our followers engaged. Also, Manchester Met University and various different school visits around education: lots of things that we’re proud of and look forward to continuing on with.
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Q: Looking into the future, is there anything that you’re hoping to do, either in the near or far future? Eugenie: Yes, we’re developing our own podcast which is so exciting. Hopefully when that comes out you will all listen to it, and find it very interesting as well. Q: Yes, please send it to us. Eugenie: I will, I will for sure. And we’re doing, or we’re hoping to do a Round Table to just focus on the fashion industry and how we can make big businesses come together to lead the way, and lead other businesses in looking at their supply chains, and making a big impact. Education, as we said earlier, is a big thing for us, and it’s so important to talk to people like you, and have this conversation earlier in preventing modern slavery from happening in the first place. They are the big things for the future.
Q: You’ve got a newsletter as well don’t you? Eugenie: Yes. Q: When did that start? Julia: Last year I think, maybe. We’ve done it now for a year, or maybe a year and a bit. We’d love to share our newsletter with anyone and everyone at Marlborough who’d like to read it. It’s a great source of information to learn about modern slavery and survivor stories, and what’s happening in the news. Q: And the last thing was, what can we do as individuals at the College. I know you have talked about raising awareness, but is there anything specific that we can do to help stop modern slavery? Eugenie: Well, as you said, raising awareness. I think part of that is educating yourself; it’s a great place to start. It’s just learning and being curious, and making it your mission to learn as much about the problem as you can. Obviously charities all require a little bit of fundraising; so, if ever you wanted to put your energy and efforts into fundraising events we could always think of good ideas for you as well. And also volunteering work; finding your local safe houses, working with survivors of modern slavery can be really impactful for both sides. Q: Thank you. Thank you very much. Eugenie: And repurposing clothes if you have the sewing skills or buying second hand, it’s a great way to stop the use of forced labour. Christopher Friis
Julia: One idea that we’ve been working on with another school is hosting a charity day where you donate money to wear your own clothes, but the only clothes you wear you’ve actually really looked into and understood who’s made them, where they’re made, how they’re made, how much you paid for them, and understand if it’s ethical or not. Eugenie: And that can be looking at your clothes from a supply chain perspective, as well as thinking about climate change as well. Choosing options from people that are doing great things, or sourcing great clothes, and making sure the planet is looked after as well. Q: Thank you. Hannah Keighley
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Piccalilli cover by Scarlet Thurner
The Piccalilli team: Hannah Keighley
Tinka Barba
Saffron Rowell
Ella Cadogan
Honor Bagshaw
Lucia Harrison
Marnie Longfield
Amelia Surtees
Lily Blosse-Lynch
Christopher Friis