When wrong ‘uns appear in Ambridge, we expect them to be love rats or corner-cutters in the shape of Matt Crawford. What you’re not expecting in a well-to-do county like Borsetshire, is a modern slaver at the heart of a network of human traffickers. The business of Philip Moss and his son Gavin, has been built on the sweat and captivity of Blake, Kenzie and Jordan, three young vulnerable men or ‘horses’ as the Moss’ term them.
Shocking as this may seem, Modern slavery is a very real issue in Britain and around the world and this hideous crime has made its way to rural Borsetshire, touching all aspects of the village in 2020.
The Beeb true to its Reithian ideals, informed and educated us with this powerful story and has proved to be a great talking point for fans of the Archers and DumTeeDum in particular. Many questioned why the voices of Blake, Kenzie and Jordan were used, thinking that their silence spoke loud enough.
There is no typical victim of slavery. In 2018, the UK Modern Slavery Helpline indicated that 3,280 potential victims of modern slavery cases were men, while 1,476 were women. Most of us have had secure loving upbringings so for us, or our families, to fall prey to this practice is unthinkable, however I believe we should take time not only to think about, but to act, in helping those who find themselves trafficked in 2021. DumTeeDum is asking you to donate to “Unseen” which is a UK charity fighting slavery around the world and at home in Britain. Give as much as you can, so that by working in partnership with communities, business, governments and other organisations we can help to stamp out slavery for good.
Ian Pepperell (who plays Roy Tucker) is giving a signed 70th anniversary Archers script to someone who donates and we will not be running this as an auction but will select the winner of the script randomly. Give what you can and spare a thought for those confined against their will and treated without human dignity. The link to our just giving page is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/blakekenziesandjordan
