Feb. 8 is the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, a day requested by Pope Francis and first recognized in 2015.
The Vatican thus held a conference with some women who shared a bit of their story. One was Rejoice, a 19-year-old girl from Nigeria. She says she was enslaved by her aunt also beaten and enslaved by her mother. She was trying to go to Europe to work when she discovered it was a job as a prostitute.
REJOICE
Victim
“I will never go there and do a prostitute. My friends were very angry with me. What are you saying to your mother that you're not going to work as a prostitute. I was really angry and they were insulting me. I said I don't care. So when I got to Libya, the police, I was arrested in Libya, so I spent one week in prison. I managed to escape from the prison. When I was at sea, our boat broke into two. So we managed to survive air shots before the rescue came to rescue us.”
Now in Italy, Rejoice says she tries to encourage others who might be going through a similar experience, telling them to have faith in God and patience that everything will be okay, despite the horror they have experienced.
The Coordinator for Talitha Kum, an international network of consecrated people, working to stop human trafficking, also shared an experience. She says working with many girls who have been trafficked allows glimpses of hope and healing.
SR. GABRIELLA BOTTANI
Coordinator for Talitha Kum
'There was a young woman, I'll call her Maria (18). What struck me was her body rigid from the violence. It was a body that told and held a story of the tragedy of trafficking. It was the body of a teenager, used on the outskirts for sexual exploitation. This girl at one point looked up and a ray of light shone in her eyes. For me, it was a very important moment in her. In this ray of light that shone in her eyes, I saw her hope return.”
Fr. Michael Czerny from the Vatican Migrants and Refugee Section affirms that many times it's testimonies that can impact others.
FR. MICHAEL CZERNY S.J.
Migrants and Refugees Section (Vatican)
“We need to be reminded that it's happening. The best person to remind us is somebody who's gone through it. So that's why witnessing is important.”
That is also why the Vatican published the “Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking” in January. They especially address bishops and priests, explaining Pope Francis' ideas to combat trafficking once and for all.
