A Triumph against the Trafficking of of Women
as “Warmi Huasi” celebrates its 10th Anniversary
Sister Mary Neylon writes from Huaycan, Lima, Peru about the formation of the
South American Network of Religious against Human Trafficking
With great concern and a strong level of commitment, the South American Network of Religious against Human Trafficking was formed in Lima this October 2010, with representatives from Peru and seven other countries – Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela.
This South American Network is now part of the International Network of Religious, ‘Talitha Kumi’* – initiated by the Union of International Superiors General (UISG) in Rome- and in this way can also avail of the professional assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
This International Network is bringing to light and addressing the vast growing criminal exploitation – for both labour and sexual purposes – especially of women and children, and already there are groupings of Religious involved in parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, and Canada and in many European countries, including Ireland.
The South American Network chose its name in Quechua -‘Kausay’, meaning ‘life – ‘a new dawn.’ A coordinating group of 3 was elected and the various congregations present plan to work closely together, and with other Organizations, in addressing what was termed ‘the new form of slavery’. Many experiences were shared. For example, in Peru, during the first 9 months of this year alone, the police have identified 798 cases of trafficking – the majority of which involved young girls between the ages of 14 and 17.
I was happy to be present, and to be part of this challenging Network
Mary Neylon
*‘Talitha Kumi “Get up, little girl!“ is the word spoken by Jesus (Mark 5:21-24).
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In September last “Warmi Huasi” had its 10th Anniversary and of that Sister Mary noted: “Today, we had a big open air gathering for the Day of No-violence against women. Being a Sunday, and with the electricity cut off all day, a bigger than usual crowd gathered…and even though it wasn’t easy to get loud speakers and batteries for the occasion, thank God all went well, and hopefully has done some good.” |
For more on Sister Mary and her work at Warmi Huasi in Huaycan, Lima Peru click here