Human sex trafficking captured through the lens of Auckland photographer
Nikki Denholm is haunted by the universal hollowness in eyes that have seen too much.
The Auckland photographer captures powerful images of young girls sold into sex slavery in countries ranging from Cambodia to Uganda.
“I’m there in what tiny way I can to tell their story, but when I come home the eyes stick,” Denholm said.
“The same sense of desolation and hopelessness you see in a lot of the girls’ eyes, no matter which country they’re from, is something that does stay with me.
“I might cry when they’re telling me their stories, but in terms of me processing the enormity of human trafficking and the injustice of it, that’s something I will pick up when I’m at home.”
Denholm, 53, has worked in more than 40 countries documenting the stories of people suffering through war, famine, persecution, and crisis.
The mother of three girls was inspired to focus on human sex trafficking six years ago after a symposium in India alerted her to the severity of the problem.
At the time, 16,000 girls each year were trafficked from Nepal across the border to India, she said.
The Mission Bay resident worked in a red-light district in Mumbai where an estimated 42,000 young girls were held captive in high-rise brothels across seven streets.
“I was quite shocked at how many young girls and women are sold into human sex trafficking and how poor the outcomes are for them in terms of ever being rescued,” Denholm said.
Today, it is estimated that between 28-30 million people across the world have been trafficked into some form of human slavery, with between four and a half million and five million sold into sex slavery, she said.
“Something happens at a different level when you see a photograph than when you just read four and a half million girls have been sex-trafficked. I think what a photograph does is it brings the issues into people’s hearts really.”
Human trafficking is the world’s fastest-growing criminal area, reaping an estimated NZ$230 billion profit a year, according to Tearfund.
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Pamela’s Kiwi food tour
Pamela, a resident of Bert Sutcliffe Village, has a passion for good food, great company, and exploring new places. A seasoned traveller and cruising enthusiast, Pamela has sailed to numerous destinations, sampling local cuisines along the way.
Closer to home, alongside her son-in-law and daughter, she has discovered a variety of restaurants that showcase the diversity of New Zealand’s culinary scene. Whether you’re planning a road trip, dreaming about your next cruise, or simply searching for a great dining spot, these are Pamela’s top food recommendations to inspire your next adventure.
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A tip for the Season Of Overwhelm
Hi Neighbours, are you feeling overwhelmed? Multi-tasking. Saying yes too much. Or not saying no enough. Committing and then not getting as much done as expected. Too many things on the to-do list and not enough hours in the day. Distracted. And now it’s the holiday season and everything is on turbo-charge!
Here’s one tip that can help move your attention from all that over thinking and relentless planning.
Use your body as a way of becoming present. Take advantage of short moments of waiting during the day to switch your attention to what you are feeling in your body at this moment.
Start by taking an intentional breath into your chest and down through your abdomen. Emphasize the exhale to get all the air out. From there, you might simply feel the weight and the connection of your body to the chair you’re sitting in or your feet to the ground.
If you would like to train your ability to cope with overwhelm, good-quality mindfulness training is proven to help.
Click Read More to find out more about what I do - I offer one-on-one sessions and custom courses for group bookings. I am a registered teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction.
I run a friendly small group in Meadowbank, third Monday of the month. (Except December!)
www.everudkinmindfulness.co.nz....
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