IX° International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking 2023
“Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) Journeying in dignity “Journeying in dignity” is the theme of the 9th Edition of the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, celebrated around Feb. 8, 2023. In 2022, we have experienced major changes as well as the aggravation of crises. In this context, the number of both at-risk groups and people suffering from trafficking violence has increased. This can be explained by the exploitation of vulnerabilities caused by instability due to armed conflicts, generalized violence, and climate-environmental and economic crises. Those attempting to flee in hope of safety or employment find themselves at the mercy of inadequate laws to protect migrants and find themselves more easily entangled in the webs woven by traffickers. In addition, traffickers have increased their use of information technology for recruitment and exploitation, luring victims on…
The joy of “moving towards” … in Uganda
At the end of January, I set off on a new mission among the refugees in the northern part of Uganda, where there is one of the biggest refugee concentrations in the world. Refugees are prone to be trafficked and exploited because of their precarious situation and their vulnerability, especially children and young women. An effective fight against human trafficking requires some preparation, some knowledge about the realities of human trafficking and skills that can be useful in prevention and advocacy. To be better prepared for this task and to be actively involved in fighting human trafficking among those to whom I am sent, I followed a one-year online course that equipped me with necessary skills. The course was directed to the leaders of Talitha Kum Network, to enable us to be actively involved and better collaborate with others in the fight against human trafficking. We…
Sr Lea Ackermann hands over the management of SOLWODI
Tribute to an exceptional woman
The young Lea Ackermann from Völklingen, in Saarland, joined the Congregation of the “Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa” in 1960.
Apostolate in the peripheries
Our sister Cecylia Bachalska, from the community of Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania) tells us about her apostolate in the outskirts of the city and of life …
“Rescue Centre Pope Francis” in Malindi, Kenya
MALINDI IS A CITY LOCATED 120 KM FROM MOMBASA (KENYA). With its salt pans, unpaid workers and growing Chinese population, it is booming. Today it has 18 parishes with 38 priests including 14 diocesan, 2 Fidei Donum, 64 Sisters, 22 Religious and 11 seminarians. Located on the Indian Ocean coast, Malindi is heavily affected by human trafficking, a new form of slavery. Also, our primary conviction is that education is an important factor in eradicating this phenomenon, and in supporting victims. Admittedly, microfinance projects already contribute to raising the standard of living of this population, but a global approach is also necessary to achieve this goal. The Catholic Church and the other religions have undertaken to collaborate in this, in particular through the Centre: “Pope Francis Rescue Center”, which already exists in Malindi. THE MOTTO OF THE RESCUE CENTER IS: “TO LOVE AND SERVE”.Officially opened on July 21, 2015,…
Talitha Kum comes of age in Burkina
“We realize that we are all living with victims or people vulnerable to trafficking and the question was: How best can each one play her/his role to save our brothers and sisters through words and deeds?” Sr. Angela Kapitingana
Saint Josephine Bahita and Human Trafficking
Saint Josephine Bahita and Human Trafficking
February 8 is the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese who was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery. It is the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.
Pope Francis: Free women from the slavery of prostitution
Pope Francis contributes the preface to a new book on human trafficking, entitled « Women crucified”, by Fr Aldo Buonaiuto, a priest of the Pope John XXIII Community. The shame of human trafficking as told from the street ». In the preface, Pope Francis recalls one of his Mercy Friday visits to a house run by the Pope John XXIII Community for victims of human trafficking. “I did not think I would find such humiliated, afflicted and suffering women there”, writes the Pope. “Truly, women crucified”. Pope Francis describes listening to “the moving and very human stories of these unfortunate women, some of them with their child in their arms”. Afterwards, he says he felt the need to “ask forgiveness for the real tortures they had to endure because of their clients, many of whom call themselves Christian”. Rescue and rehabilitation “A person can never be offered for sale”, writes the Pope.…
We never thought it was happening near us
On 7 February, we held a prayer vigil on the theme of Migration without Human Trafficking. The committee against human trafficking, to which Sr Angela from the Bobo-Dioulasso community in Burkina Faso belongs, reflected on how to raise awareness of the reality of human trafficking in the country and around the world. They invited a young man to tell his story of trafficking in migrants in the region, to show that trafficking is a reality in our region and to call for action to combat it. Issa from Mali and Yao from Côte d’Ivoire shared their experiences of being trafficked, and the suffering and torture they endured in the desert, which were touching and painful. Yao had been offered the chance to sell cocoa and find a better life in Italy. But the money was taken, and he had to work hard, even during the journey. He…
Women with women – victims of human trafficking
After many years spent in Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Mozambique) Sr. Begoña Iñarra Spanish was sent for mission to Paris where she is working with Aux Captifs, la Libération, an organization helping women get out of prostitution. Sister is also a member of RENATE, Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation. A beautiful dream of a good job often becomes a nightmare All together, you have spent more than 20 years in Africa. When you see the growing number of Africans now trying to come to Europe, and when you see how many women end up as traffic victims, what do you think about this? Poor people have always left their countries in search of a better future. But the Africans who leave now are not the poorest. They must have some money to pay the traffickers who organize the migrations. They have to be able to borrow…