Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – During their Plenary Congress celebrated in 2001, the International Union of Superior Generals (UISG) made the commitment to take action in facing the spreading plague of human trafficking. Since then, hundreds of religious women in the world have taken formation courses, in collaboration with the international organization for migration (OIM), in order to help women who are victims of the treatment and slavery of sexual exploitation. On June 2-6, in Rome (Italy), the UISG and OIM organized an international congress in order to assess the results and experiences that have emerged over these past years and strengthen their network of relations and interventions that currently reaches out to somewhere between 600,000 to 800,000 people, the majority of whom are women.
A guideline for taking action from this year onwards has already been determined: strengthen the network on a national and regional level, create an international network, and find the necessary elements for sustaining this network of contacts. It is difficult to calculate exactly, but it seems that 70% of those exploited are women and of these 70%, 50% are minors. It is a vast and varying phenomenon that has reached an international level. Every year there are between 700,000 to 2 million people that fall victim to trafficking, as if they were merchandise products. The majority of the victims come from Asia, followed by the former Soviet Union, which is becoming one of the new “hubs” for exploiters. 75,000 people come from Eastern Europe, and between 200-500,000 from Latin America, who are taken to the United States and Europe.
It is a criminal activity that encompasses an immense business. According to statistics from the Congress, in Canada alone every year, trafficking of foreign women for sexual exploitation and prostitution rakes in 400 million dollars. It is a phenomenon that is closely linked to the geo-political issues, in which women are victims of poverty, discrimination, difficulties in acquiring basic needs, and are forced to immigrate in order to support themselves and their children. Not only women (up to 60 years old) and children (from infancy) are the target for the trafficking. People from poor families, who live in rural areas or in the slums of the large cities, ethnic minorities, illiterates, girls who have run away from home, are all victims as well. There are also a small number of people who are victims of the exploitation without realizing it.
These people are “enticed” by the promise of better economic and living conditions, with which they will be able to help their families that are often living in situations of extreme poverty and difficulty. The working conditions border on slavery: an abundance of working hours and completely exposed to dangers, not to mention the fact that the workers almost never receive even a part of the profit made. The victims of trafficking are not only used for prostitution, but also for performing forced labor, in drug trafficking, in the illegal adoption of minors, in sales of organs, in begging, and in various forms of work exploitation.
At the close of the encounter, Sr. Sr. Victoria Gonzales de Castejon, Secretary of the International Union of Superior Generals, spoke with Fides and mentioned some of the most important ideas that had emerged from the conference: “Highlight the extent of the problem, it’s complex nature: what is needed is collaboration so that we can have an impact and be heard by the governments, institutions, and organizations. In this globalized world, these large and complex problems should be faced through networks.”
The formation courses were an initiative of the International Organization for Migrants, who asked the Union to collaborate. The Congress addressed the fruits of their collaboration effort, that of the courses that have taken place over the past few years, beginning with the experiences of what the religious do in terms of prevention, protection, and assistance in these political and social situations. “My hope is in the ‘drop of water’,” Sr. Victoria said. “When I hear the religious talk about how many women they are in contact with, and I compare this number to the reality of how many there are in need, it is like a drop of water. But, if at least one woman is freed and realizes her dignity - that she is worth much more, it is worthwhile - even if we cannot reach a billion people.” An important point is that of the relations with the most advanced countries in terms of development: “All are involved and responsible: both the countries where they are taken, as well as all the countries in between. I do not think that any country can wash its hands of this issue,” she said in making reference to a case of a girl who had been a victim of trafficking and was later killed in Australia, thus obliging the government there to take measures in facing this phenomenon that has extended on a worldwide level.
The faith is a great instrument that the religious that are in contact with the victims of traffic try to transmit, after having helped them to regain their freedom. “These women have a great passion. They live with the victims and pass the night on the street with them sometimes, accompanying them. I think that this relationship is already a saving act. This makes them rediscover their dignity, their beauty as women,” Sr. Victoria affirmed.
Religious men are also starting to get involved in the fight against this plague. They are thinking of how they can take up a parallel battle in the issue, which is not only a problem among women, as they are normally exploited by men, but it is a world issue, a problem of concern for all people. The Congress concluded with the commitment to continue in establishing this collaboration and in strengthening the work of the network. It was not a cold and theoretical Congress, but rather one that was filled with real life experiences and based on the service carried out by the network: “with a passion that comes from experience,” Sr. Victoria concluded. (PC) (Agenzia Fides 9/6/2008)
