Text - Land of Eagles Audio Monologues

1. Majlinda - The Victim

Alison Porter — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:45:11 GMT

The first monologue tells the story of Majlinda, who is tricked into exploitation in the sex trade by someone claiming to be her boyfriend. This is the story of her journey from Tirana in Albania to the UK. In the Medaille Trust contextual interview about this episode Garry Smith, Chief Executive of Medaille Trust, talks about the 'boyfriend trick' scenario and why it is so common. In the same podcast Alison Porter, writer and director of the monologue series, explains why this project matters so much in current times.

Elizabeth ‘Lizzie” Schenk – the voice of Majlinda is an English actor and voiceover artist with Swiss heritage. She trained at LAMDA and recently appeared in the ensemble of Good at The Harold Pinter Theatre.

2. Jetmir - The Trafficker

Alison Porter — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:42:21 GMT

The mini-series telling the story of modern slavery from different perspectives continues with Jetmir, the trafficker, who has tricked Majlinda into travelling abroad with him. In the Medaille Trust contextual interview that accompanies this episode Stephen Hay, Director of Police and Justice Partnerships at Medaille Trust and Helen Gordos, from the National Crime Agency talk about the realities of modern slavery today.

Dritan Kastrati – the voice of Jetmir, is an Albanian actor who arrived in the UK as an unaccompanied child asylum seeker and went on to train as an actor through Frantic Assembly’s Ignition programme. His auto-biographical play How not to Drown, co-written with Nicola McCartney and produced by ThickSkin, is currently touring the UK.

3. Jo - The Caseworker

Alison Porter — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:39:10 GMT

The Medaille Trust contextual interview linked to episode 3 features interviews with two senior caseworkers, Katy Hallam and Hannah Spittal.

Lainey Shaw – the voice of Jo the caseworker, is an actor and voiceover artist from the North of England who has appeared in films and television series including Blue Jean, Gangs of London and Pennyworth.

4. Ela - The Mother

Alison Porter — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:33:30 GMT

The fourth monologue features Majlinda's mother, Ela, who is at home in Albania. She doesn't know where her daughter is or what has become of her, but feels unable to ask questions or look for her. The Medaille Trust contextual interview linked to this episode features interviews with Ana Stakaj and Irena Kraja from the Mary Ward Loreto Foundation. The discussion explores the experiences of women who are exploited and trafficked within and from Albania, as well as their families who are left behind. Irena describes exploitation in Albania as 'widespread but not visible'.

Donna Sherifi – the voice of Ela, was born in Kosovo, grew up in Sweden and trained as an actor in London.

5. Majlinda - The Survivor

Alison Porter — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:24:53 GMT

The Medaille Trust contextual interview linked to episode 5 features members of the Moving On Project team, Miranda Cassidy, Amanda Le Noble and Jess Conlon, who talk about their experiences supporting women survivors in the community and the barriers facing them. The episode also hears from a client supported by the Moving on Project.

R.B. ‘Rona’ Castrioti – singer of the ancient Albanian song ‘Bilbili’ (the Nightingale) is a composer of Greek-Italian and Albanian decent. She is currently a doctoral student affiliated to The Budapest Strings Orchestra, The Czech National Symphony Orchestra, The Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra and The National Theatre of Kosovo.