The Church’s International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking takes place every year on February 8th, which is also the feast day of St Josephine, the Sudanese nun who as a child was kidnapped and enslaved and has become the patron saint of trafficked persons and the symbol of the Church’s commitment against tafficking.
“Journeying in Dignity: Listen, Dream, Act” is the theme of this year’s Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking a scourge, which affects millions of people in our world today. On this day we are invited to pray, listen and dream of a better world and to act for change that will allow living and journeying in dignity together.
| To view a short video, made by the OLA and SMA about the life of St Josephine and Human Trafficking, click on the button below. |
On Feb. 8, an online pilgrimage of prayer and reflection against human trafficking will be held around the world. It will start at 9:30 a.m. in Oceania, followed by Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, South America, and will finally conclude at 4:30 p.m. in North America. It is expected that people from more that 50 countries will participate in the event and Pope Francis is expected to publish a special message on the day. This international event is coordinated by Talitha Kum, an international network against human trafficking, with more than 6,000 women religious members, friends and collaborators. Maryknoll Sister Abby Avelino, coordinator of the event says; “Trafficking is around us, in our cities, but is often invisible to our eyes. With this day, we want to increase awareness of trafficking, reflect on the situation of violence and injustice suffered by the victims of this global phenomenon, and propose concrete solutions,”
Join in the live streaming of the Pilgrimage of Prayer via this link https://www.youtube.com/c/preghieracontrotratta
SMA OLA WEBINAR: 
To highlight the issue of Human Trafficking at this time the SMA and OLA Justice and Communications Desks are organising a webinar with the title “The Weaponization of Cultural Beliefs in Human Trafficking – the ensnaring power of Witchcraft. This will take place on Tuesday 12th February between 7pm and 8.15pm. This Webinar will explore the intersection of cultural beliefs and human trafficking – how traditional oath-taking rituals and the influence of juju (magic) become insidious control mechanisms, ensnaring victims in bondage and leaving them at the mercy of traffickers. The main speaker at the event will the author David Lohan who co-wrote Open Secrets: An Irish Perspective on Trafficking & Witchcraft and more recently published At Freedom’s Crossroads: Making Sense of Modern Slavery.
To Register click on this link http://subscribepage.io/februarytrafficking2024
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