June 1, 2018
Join the Movement, Create a Tipping Point to End Human Trafficking
by Sister Linda Haydock, SNJM
On first every Sunday of the month for ten years we Catholic Sisters and our companions stand and pray to end the trafficking of over of over 40 million women, children and men. It’s said that statistics are faces with the tears wiped away. We will stand, advocate and work until the face of human trafficking is revealed as the modern day slavery it is and brought to an end.
Why would people stand in silent vigil every month for ten years? We feel called, compelled and have a conviction that every action we take to witness against the injustice and indignity of human trafficking makes a difference. While we advocate and educate we stand in silent vigil. We hold companies accountable for trafficking in their supply chains, and we vigil. As we form committees and coalitions we vigil. As we accompany and support survivors we vigil.
Rain, shine or snow we stand in the heart of downtown Seattle at Westlake Park. This small urban gathering place for the community is also a hub of human trafficking, law enforcement officers tell us. Throughout the years we have had every encounter imaginable with passersby. Many walk by without even a glance, but many more come to a new awareness of the human trafficking taking place in our midst. From photo journalists to the state attorney general, we enlist them to act end human trafficking as we give public witness. Survivors thank us and students stand with us. Retired sisters unable to stand, join us in their chapels.
Every time I join in community at Westlake Park it is a new opportunity to deepen my commitment to give what I can and to do what must be done for the sake of the whole human community. There are more laws now, more organizations addressing human trafficking, more companies aware and addressing the situation, and much more public consciousness of the need to end the exploitation of human beings. When will we reach the tipping point where survivors outnumber the persons trafficked and slavery is no more? I can’t tell you how many more vigils we will hold or when we will celebrate the end of trafficking, but I can tell you as long as there are Catholic Sisters and human trafficking exists we will stand strong on every corner and commit ourselves to every effort to end human trafficking.
The movement is growing. Fifteen states and three Canadian Provinces hold vigils. What if we doubled the number of vigils this year? If every city in North American joined the sisters for half an hour on the first Sunday of the month it would signal that we are well on our way to that tipping point to end human trafficking.
To Start a Public Vigil
- Contact the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center at: ipjc@ipjc.org
- Get Signs
- Set a Time and Place
- Show Up
February 2, 2017
St. Josephine Bakhita: A Saint For Our Time
By the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center
During the month of February, we commemorate St. Josephine Bakhita, who has come to be known as a symbol of hope for Catholics in the anti-human trafficking movement. St. Josephine was sold into slavery as a young girl in her home country of Sudan, but later in life she escaped and became a Canossian sister in Italy.
St. Josephine Bakhita’s story, although occurring over one hundred years ago, reflects some of the same realities that many human trafficking victims face today. There are so many untold stories of individuals trapped in situations of exploitation through force, fraud, or coercion. We have a tendency in doing this work to lump these stories together into statistics and data in an effort to convey to people the how human trafficking reaches every corner of the earth, every industry, gender, and age group. St. Josephine reminds us that behind these statistics are nearly 21 million individual stories of suffering.
St. Josephine reminds us of a man we work with who for years was exploited right here in the United States at a sandwich shop and was then apprehended by U.S. immigration officials for being undocumented. I think of his resilience in advocating for himself and obtaining legal residency and using his voice to shed light on the issue of human trafficking that occurs right here in our backyard.
St. Josephine reminds us of the service providers who work 12 hour days to assist in providing for human trafficking survivors’ basic needs after escaping exploitation. This type of dedication can only be brought out through immense compassion and hope.
St. Josephine reminds us of the people overseas who are exploited making the products we in the western world could not imagine our lives without. Cell phones, clothing, shoes, jewelry, and other products have a higher cost than just the money we pay for them, a cost paid in the suffering of those who are not paid a fair wage, work long hours, and do not have access to safety equipment.
So, to commemorate these stories, we invite you to honor St. Josephine on her Feast Day, February 8th, and to hold in your heart all victims of human trafficking in three ways:
- Gather your family, religious community, and friends to say the prayer of St. Josephine Bakhita (below).
- Choose one of the US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking’s Educational Modules to study and reflect upon.
- Contact your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and urge them to continue the work to end human trafficking globally.
As people of faith, we have a long legacy of commemorating those who have gone before us to pave the way for justice. So on February 8th, let us continue the work to end human trafficking and celebrate how far we’ve come.
St. Josephine Bakhita, you were sold into slavery as a child
and endured untold hardship and suffering.
Once liberated from your physical enslavement,
you found true redemption in your encounter with
Christ and his Church.
O St. Bakhita, assist all those who are trapped in a
state of slavery;
Intercede with God on their behalf
so that they will be released from their chains
of captivity.
Those whom man enslaves, let God set free.
Provide comfort to survivors of slavery
and let them look to you as an example of hope
and faith.
Help all survivors find healing from their wounds.
We ask for your prayers and intercessions for
those enslaved among us.
Amen
Prayer: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services
The Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center is a member organization of the US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking. IPJC is sponsored by 21 religious communities and works for justice in the church and in the world through education, advocacy and organizing.
