Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Panama City (Agenzia Fides) – August 5-8, 2008, Panama City will be hosting a Latin American Conference on human trafficking, sponsored by the Human Mobility Section of the Latin American Bishops’ Conference (CELAM). The objective of the encounter is to contribute to the formation of pastoral agents in acting in three dimensions: prevention, resolution, and attention to the victims of human trafficking.
Human trafficking has been taking place for years, however only in the last two decades has it come into public scene, a statement from CELAM said. We are facing an old problem with a new name, an authentic plight, also known as the “Slavery of the 21st Century.”
In the 19th Century there was the “Trafficking of Whites” which referred to the practice of capturing European and American white women to serve as prostitutes and concubines normally in Arab, African, and Asian countries. Later, the trafficking of women was extended to include other continents and races, leaving behind this former definition. Right now, there are people from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe who are moved from one place to another by trickery, violence, or threat, making them work in places where they suffer abuse, are treated as slaves, or forced to work for little pay. There are currently an estimated 600,000-800,000 victims of this modern form of slavery.
Human trafficking has become the profitable slavery second to drugs and arms trafficking. Likewise, it has become an everyday reality, mentioned in the news on television, in the written press, and on the street. It is undoubtedly a flagrant violation of human rights, which reveals the cowardice of our society. “As long as we continue to remain silent and tolerate this situation that makes increasingly more headway into our society and leads to corruption, the more we become its accomplices,” the statement concluded. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 1/8/2008)
