As Unchosen Grows - Meet Newest Member Rachel Sherwin!
As anti-human trafficking charity Unchosen, which raises awareness through anti-trafficking film campaigns goes from strength to strength, newest team member Rachel Sherwin takes time out to tell us about her new role as Executive Assistant to the CEO.
She tells us about her passion for countering human trafficking, her hopes and dreams for Unchosen and what she will accomplish in her new role. Find out about her previous experiences - including working for the United Nations in Syria, why she feels her previous roles have led to Unchosen and the shock of British weather and travelling costs!
Read Rachel's 'Q & A' session with Emma. (PICTURE: UNCHOSEN'S BRISTOL UNIVERSITY FILM CAMPAIGN)What led to your exciting new role with Unchosen?
For many years I have been passionate about combatting human trafficking and knew that countering human trafficking was the field I wanted to work in. All my experience and research over the past nine years, since finding out about this atrocity, has steadily led me to this position, providing me with the skills and knowledge necessary to really contribute to the work of Unchosen throughout the UK.
Please tell us the title of your new role and what it has involved so far?
My title is Executive Assistant to the CEO (Trish Davidson, the founder and director). I will essentially be assisting Trish organise film campaigns and other initiatives throughout the UK, developing partnerships and projects and engaging in much fundraising!
So far, with Unchosen expanding so incredibly fast throughout the UK, work has been extremely challenging, but in an inspiring way. There is so much to do, so many details to keep on top of.
Without a doubt the best part of this job are my new colleagues and all the other like minded professionals and academics working in the field, who I have the pleasure of working with regularly. There is so much local activitism and passion, coupled with the great array of skills and experience meaning that we present a formidable anti-trafficking front!
What do you hope to achieve in this role?
I know that this role will really be the making of me. I am honoured to have been welcomed on board to help shape campaigns and direction. I hope that in the future I will also have the chance to use my knowledge of the European scene and languages in potential overseas partnerships!
What did you do before? And tell us more about you?
I studied Politics in Nottingham and Paris, and then went onto a Masters in EU International Relations and Diplomacy in Bruges.In 2008, I spent three weeks in the Palestinian territories and Israel in what was a life changing experience. I knew I wanted to return to the region after my studies to learn the Arabic language and start to learn more about an area and peoples so often demonised in Western media.
Whilst I can’t deny it was a conflict to choose between a job in Brussels and taking a trip to the unknown, I found myself in October 2011 on a plane with a one-way ticket to Syria where I knew noone and had no job lined up!
It’s difficult to describe how I felt when I got on the plane to go to Syria. It was extremely surreal, but at the same time I wasn’t fazed. I kept asking myself if I really understood what I was getting myself in for, and was worried that I would be hit with a huge culture shock upon arrival. Funnily enough, this ‘realisation moment’ of ‘oh, heck! I’m in Syria’ never really happened!
Tell us about your job in Syria?
After a two-month internship in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), I was lucky enough to be chosen for a traineeship with the European Union Delegation to Syria, in the Political and Economic Section. I was essentially 'double hatted', researching regional developments whilst also assisting the Press and Communications Team.Upon completion of the internship (4 months), I was offered two subsequent short-term contracts to stay on with the Press and Communications Team. I communicated the work of the EU in Syria, in co-operation with the 19 EU Member States present in Syria and the 26 plus projects and programmes in place.
Individual tasks included writing two Annual Cooperation Reports to be published for the general public; producing a pack of leaflets containing success stories from each of our projects (again published in hard copy and put on the Delegation’s website); assisting in the organisation of a two week long film festival, and the organisation of a two day conference exhibiting the EU’s work in Syria with 200 participants and about 2000 guests.
How was it living and working in Syria?
I worked in a team of extremely friendly and intelligent people. The staff were divided half and half - of Syrian and European workers. English and French were the working languages.
I was given a great deal of responsibility and encouraged to be proactive in my research topics and the communications materials I produced. The work itself was challenging at times, particularly when one has to work with both the Arabic sense of time keeping, and the European one! I
But it was extremely rewarding and a steep learning curve of how to juggle many tasks at the same time, how to work with more than 20 different nationalities, and juggle work with private life!
The main aim of the role was to help explain the role of the EU in Syria. The EU Delegation is extremely active in Syria, with a large annual budget. The perception of the EU, by both the general public and other development organisations, was ‘money’. Yet no-one really knew what we were doing, why we were there and where the money was going.
I hoped to get practical experience in working ‘in the field’, to gain a different perspective on development aid and learn about the realities of bilateral and multilateral cooperation from first hand experience.
Did you have any unusual experiences living and working there?
As a foreigner, you are automatically guaranteed more liberties than a Syrian young person. You also have a lot less to fear, both from individuals and also the ‘mukhabarat’ (secret police). However, as I was dating a Syrian and had mainly Syrian friends – things can at times get a little more complicated as you become more intimately concerned with their concerns and fears.
I also learnt that I had to shake off a great many ‘Western’ habits and notions in order to be safe, respected and successful. This was extremely difficult at first, such as being to friendly and polite in certain situations.
Were you sad to leave?
I was extremely sad to leave all my friends in Syria, however felt that it was time for me to return to Europe to spend some more time closer to older friends and family. Still having close friends out there I know that I will be returning several times – I have at least two trips planned for 2011!Are you enjoying life in Bristol and Bath?
I have to laugh that after almost seven years of pursuing experience, knowledge language and professional skills abroad, that life has led me right back to my hometown! It’s rather ironic!But in a sense that’s what human trafficking is all about as a phenomenon. People – including myself in the past – had the idea that it was an international atrocity taking place in countries far away, involving other peoples. In some cases it is. However, there are also an estimated 5,000 cases of human trafficking in the UK annually, including in Bath and Bristol, with persons of all nationalities including British.
I have to say that weather is something I have had to adjust back to! Also the cost of travel expenses! But being back in the UK, particularly in the Bath and Bristol area has been really inspiring. I have found that working in such emotionally draining fields, particularly the charitable sector which can be extremely challenging can only be sustained if you’re surrounded by like minded, motivated people who can inspire you and pick you up when you are looking motivation!
What are your hopes for Unchosen?
The possibilities for Unchosen as a charity are limitless!
Unchosen is the only film campaign raising awareness of human trafficking in the UK. The medium of film has proven to be an EXTREMELY effective way of raising awareness amongst all sectors of society, all ages, races, sexes. It brings home the reality of human trafficking and surrounding issues to a much wider audience than a governmental White Paper could.
We currently have an incredible nine campaigns planned in seven cities for 2011, and this number seems to be forever increasing!
We are also planning targeted awareness raising amongst police forces, secondary schools and universities.
I hope that Unchosen will become more financially secure this year. Such huge growth brings increased expenses and it’s extremely difficult to be continuously fire fighting with funds. In addition to securing grants, we hope to roll out a Corporate Sponsorship Scheme in the coming weeks, increasing awareness and responsaiblity amongst the business community. Anyone interested in this, please get in touch straight away!
What projects does Unchosen have planned for this summer?
- March 2011: Bristol University (partnership with Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery) Bath University
- May 11: Nottingham (partnership with Leicester police and SOCA)
- June: Manchester, Exeter
- September: Bath (raising awareness amongst the police force)
- October: London, Bath
- Birmingham: date tbc