Monday, February 9, 2015
Plans are underway to hold a World Day of Prayer for Anti-trafficking on Monday, February 9, 2015. This UISG/USG initiative is being undertaken through the Talitha Kum Network, in collaboration with Caritas Internationalis, Global Freedom Network, the Italian Association of Religious Office for Anti-trafficking of Women and Children and “Slaves no More” Association NGO.
What is Trafficking?
The Trafficking in Persons is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”
(cfr. UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children supplementing the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime) (From the Talith Kum website)
This day of prayer coincides with the liturgical feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese slave who, after her liberation, became a Canossian nun and canonized in the year 2000.
Our Lasallian Perspective
In his 2013 address, Former Superior General Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría said of Women and Lasallian Association:
“The vitality of our mission depends on how we respond today, in association, to the needs of the poor. We value the efforts that we Lasallians are making to liberate the poor from their different forms of poverty, and we ask that service of the poor and the promotion of justice be considered the heart of and the cause for strengthening the Lasallian mission in the world.”
Referring to the 2013 International Assembly he noted that the final report from that Assembly was “very sensitive to children and young people who are at risk, those who are in extreme situations and in new situations of exclusion and marginalization.”
What We Can Do
For the 2014-15 school year, we have been awarded a “Mission Grant” from the Daughters of Wisdom. With it, we have developed a pilot project aimed at raising awareness first, among our staff and second among our students. MORE
Day One has as its Mission: to reduce the prevalence of sexual abuse and violence as well as to support and advocate for those affected by it. MORE
Saturday, April 18, 2015 | 8:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Raymond W. Kelly ’63 Student Commons | Manhattan College | Riverdale, NY – MORE
- Educate our Lasallian students using the resources and articles below
- Show your solidarity by wearing blue or a blue heart on this day!
- Send us information about your anti-human trafficking activities so we can build awareness!
Resources
- Slavery and Human Trafficking – Find Out How You Can Help Set Them Free (CRS)
- International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking (USCCB)
- 10 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking (FaithStreet)
- Follow @BecomingBrother on Twitter where more resources will be compiled from different social justice and religious outlets
Articles
- Vatican, Religious Orders Launch International Day Against Trafficking (NCR)
- Pope Francis and Other World Faith Leaders Sign Commitment to End Slavery (CRS)
- Pope and Other Religious Leaders Commit to Eradicating Human Slavery (CRUX)
- December 2014: Interfaith commitment to fight against human trafficking (Rome Reports)
- CRS Applauds Legislation to Prevent Child Sex Trafficking
- The Dark Side of the Super Bowl and How Congress Aims to Fight it
- Hundreds Of Johns Arrested In Sex-Trafficking Sting That Culminated On Super Bowl Sunday
- Thailand Sees Progress in Curbing Human Trafficking