‘End this crime against humanity’: Leo decries human trafficking

‘Ultimately, the violence of human trafficking can be overcome only through a renewed vision that beholds every individual as a beloved child of God.’

The disregard for human life that drives conflict throughout the world “also fuels the scourge of human trafficking”, Pope Leo said.

In a message published on Friday for the World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking – marked since 2015 on 8 February, the feast of St Josephine Bakhita – the Pope renewed “the Church’s urgent call to confront and bring an end to this grave crime against humanity”.

“Geopolitical instability and armed conflicts create fertile ground for traffickers to exploit the most vulnerable, especially displaced persons, migrants and refugees,” he said.

“Within this broken paradigm, women and children are the most impacted by this heinous trade. Furthermore, the widening gap between the rich and the poor forces many into precarious circumstances, leaving them susceptible to the deceptive promises of recruiters.”

Thanking those who work with victims of trafficking and survivors who become advocates for others, he called for prayer and awareness “to resist indifference to injustice”.

“Ultimately, the violence of human trafficking can be overcome only through a renewed vision that beholds every individual as a beloved child of God,” he said.

The message specified victims of “cyber slavery”, whereby individuals are lured into illegal activities by online fraud.

Ahead of 8 February, a Cameroonian diocese published a report that said at least 3,000 Cameroonians were trafficked by a criminal network in west Africa.

The Justice and Peace Commission of the Diocese of Kumbo, working with Nigerian partners, found that the criminals targeted young people from Cameroon’s conflict-ridden North-West and South-West regions, promising them lucrative employment abroad.

On leaving the country, they were held in squalid camps in Nigeria where they were forced to sleep on bare floors and are subjected to horrific exploitation. Their captors used the victims to extort ransoms from their families and sold them into modern-day slavery.

Across Africa, survivors of trafficking have shared testimony of their treatment amid the global effort to build awareness.

John, a mechanic from Nigeria, recalls being trafficked to Libya in 2015 on the promise of a job that would eventually fund his travel to Europe.

“When I got to Libya, I discovered it was all a lie,” he told The Tablet. “Terrible things were done to us in that place,” he said, revealing scars on his body as proof. “Eventually, I was sold out for $300 to go and work in a mine.”

In a similar case, Irene from Kenya was trafficked to Saudi Arabia and ensnared in what she called “debt bondage” after her trafficker covered her travel costs. The abuse that followed was severe and systematic.

“I was beaten, denied food, and constantly subjected to lies and false accusations,” she said. “Because of these falsehoods, I was arrested and imprisoned for crimes I did not commit,” she said. “I eventually regained my freedom after serving eight months in prison and receiving five hundred lashes, as ordered by the court.”

Although she has since been released, Irene told The Tablet that the trauma of her experience remained a heavy burden on her recovery: “My release did not erase the trauma, but it marked the beginning of my survival and healing.”

In the Philippines, the bishops’ conference called on the government to prevent human trafficking, protect victims and hold abusers accountable as the country observed its own national day of prayer against human trafficking on 1 February.

The migrants commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) encouraged dioceses to establish and strengthen their own committees against human trafficking, to which tens of thousand of Filipinos have fallen victim.

“At the heart of human trafficking is the denial of dignity,” it said. “When a person is deceived, sold, exploited or abused, peace is shattered – not only in the life of the victim, but also in the conscience of society. Human trafficking wounds families, communities, and the moral foundation of our nation.”

The CBCP commission said that human trafficking “is not merely a social issue” but “a profound moral concern that calls for conversion of hearts and transformation of systems”.

Sr Abby Avelino MM, international coordinator of the Talitha Kum network, said peace and human dignity should at the heart of this year’s observance, appealing to all people of goodwill “to go beyond awareness and unite in concrete actions to put an end to this crime”.

“Human trafficking remains a deep global wound that violates human dignity and disrupts the peace of our societies, especially in a world torn by conflicts, wars, and forced displacement,” she said in statement.

“Our commitment is to walk closely with victims and survivors, listen to their voices, and advocate for systemic change that addresses the root causes of trafficking and builds a world based on peace, justice and dignity for all.”

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