The anti-slavery message championed by The Royal Gazette’s Break The Chains campaign has been echoed in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year speech.

Dr. Rowan Williams told people that to drastically change the world for the better they must follow the example of UK slave emancipator William Wilberforce.

Mr. Wilberforce was the trailblazing politician who went against the opinion of many of his peers to tirelessly campaign for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire 200 years ago.

As the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade approaches, our Break The Chains campaign has been saluting the work of Mr. Wilberforce and calling for Governments across the world to end forms of slavery which still exist today.

Dr. Williams called for people to gain inspiration from the achievements of Mr. Wilberforce.

“Jesus talks about being hungry and thirsty for righteousness, for justice,” Dr. Williams said.

“And if we hear that in the way it’s surely meant, we have to conclude that he means that we should feel there’s something missing in us, something taken away from us, when another person, near or far away, has to face need and suffering.

“We get to be ourselves only when we wake up to them and their needs.

“People like William Wilberforce felt they were made less human than they should be by the appalling injustice of the slave trade.

“They felt a hunger for justice — a sense of being spiritually impoverished — undernourished because of slavery.”

Dr. Williams, the head of the world’s Anglican church, was speaking after a harrowing trip to conflict-torn Sudan, where he witnessed efforts to help hundreds of families devastated by horrific food shortages.

Sudan is one of many nations where modern day slavery still persists in the form of forced labour.

Civil war between the Sudan Government and Sudan People’s Liberation Army has created conditions enabling thousands of people to be abducted and forced into abuse.

The Royal Gazette’s Break The Chains campaign calls for an end to modern day slavery in Sudan and all over the world.

We are backing Anti-Slavery International’s on-line petition which demands world leaders take action to help free at least 12 million modern day slaves.

This includes those trapped in forced labour, human trafficking, child labour, bonded labour and forced marriages.

All you have to do to back it is log onto the internet and follow a few simple instructions on your computer screen.

Dr. Williams urged people not to be overwhelmed or bored by constant appeals.

He added: “When we look at the familiar images of other people’s suffering, do we feel a void inside ourselves, a yearning for something different and a conviction that it needn’t be like this?

“That’s where change begins. And it’s one of the differences that faith can make; faith in God and in people.

“It’s worth remembering this year those who struggled to do away with the slave trade.”

Anti-Slavery International officials had hoped the number of people signing the petition would smash the 15,000 mark by New Year’s Day.

It fell short, with figures so far just shy of 14,000, but the response from The Royal Gazette>readers has been described as “excellent”.

To sign the Anti-Slavery International petition, go to www.antislavery.org/2007/actionsign and fill in your details. To comment on The Royal Gazette Break The Chains campaign, call 278-0153 or email tsmith[AT]royalgazette.bm.