Do not give up hope!

pathways, NOVEMBER  2007

 

 

 

 

 

They beg those who are taken advantage of not to give up hope.

 

Thirty-three Sisters from 26 countries have committed to use their personnel and historical commitment to those living in situations of poverty to eradicate this modern day slavery, trafficking in humans.

 

Brisbane's Good Samaritan Sister Pauline Coll was Australia's representative at the first international conference on human trafficking, held in Rome, in October.  She has come back to Australia as the Asia-Pacific representative on the newly formed International Network of Religious Against Trafficking in Persons (INRATIP) steering committee which will hold is first meeting in Amsterdam, in January 2008.

 

In a statement to the world, INRATIP, said:  " ... We stand with you (the victims of trafficking ),you are not alone.  We will fight with you to release you from your bondage.

 

"In solidarity with you, we will confront the traffickers.  We challenge unjust systems and those who exploit you.

 

"Do not give up hope."

 

To the traffickers, they said: "Stop the exploitation!  Look at the children, women, and men you are destroying with your physical and psychological abuse. By violating their fundamental human rights you damage, deny and destroy their identities, names and status ..."

 

The Religious women called on the governments of the world to address the issues of economic inequality, poverty and corruption which lead to the destruction of so many lives.

 

"We urge governments to create and implement policies and strong legislation which criminalise the exploiters.  Good governance demands that traffickers do not benefit from the vulnerability of others."

 

They want all religious leaders to end religious practices and customs that discriminate against women and girls, as these contribute to the attitude of gender inequality underlying the growth of human trafficking.

 

"... We encourage you to relentlessly use your pastoral responsibility to defend and promote the human dignity of persons exploited by these forms of slavery."

 

The women also urged all people of good will to "open your hearts to the victims and to act to change the root causes of human trafficking ..."

 

They concluded:  "Our hope rests in a vision of humanity which honours the principle that no woman, child or man is a commodity for sale. Relying on the love of God, we ask you to join us in our prayers and our actions to eradicate this social and moral evil."

 

Sr Pauline (pictured left, in pink) who is Chair of Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) said that the meeting gave significant recognition to the many networks that were in place already around the world.  There was a strong, genuine desire to work towards a truly global network among those gathered in Rome, she said.

 

The October gathering was sponsored by the US Embassy to the Holy See and the Italian Union of Major Superiors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From 8-8.30am members of the college community stood along Hawthorne Road to raise awareness of the silent epidemic of exploitation and slavery that is human trafficking.

 

The action came about because a Grade 12 student, Tamika, became fired up over the issue after hearing a talk at the college by Sr Pauline before going to Rome.

 

Tamika heard the message that human trafficking is, according to the UN, the third most lucrative trans-national crime after drugs and arms smuggling. Victims of trafficking are some of the poorest and most vulnerable people of the global community, with 98 per cent of them being women and girls from some of the poorest countries in the world.

 

The stand against human trafficking was part of a day-long focus on social justice at Lourdes Hill.

 

A prayer service focusing on human trafficking was held at lunch time. After school, Lourdes Hill hosted students from six Catholic colleges to discuss school based social justice programmes aimed at empowering students to address issues of world injustice.