The Damayan Migrant Workers Association Baklas project is an organized effort to rescue Filipina women from labor trafficking and involuntary servitude. The Damayan group consists of about 800 Filipina women. They experienced labor trafficking upon immigrating to the U.S. and they wanted to help themselves and other women like them. The organization was founded in 2002 and has grown since then. The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People awarded Damayan $85,000 for three years in 2002. In 2003, Damayan (a Filipino word that means “helping each other”) became a grassroots nonprofit organization.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many have migrated to Russia for a variety of reasons. People from countries of the former Soviet Union came because economic opportunities were better in Russia during this time. In the past 10–15 years, there has been a growing number of people being trafficked from African nations. Often, they have been told that if they can get to Moscow, they will have a gateway to Europe and ultimately to financial success. Traffickers lure with many promises that are, of course, never fulfilled.
This past October, member churches of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) gathered for regional webinars to raise awareness about online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and share their plans for action. NCCP is a global partner of Presbyterian World Mission. Resource people from ECPAT Philippines (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) and Child Rights Network (CRN) provided presentations to promote awareness. Pastor Hazel Salatan, a United Methodist pastor who is in the faculty development program focused on Christian education at Union Theological Seminary, Philippines, urged churches and faith communities to provide safe spaces for children.
This past October, member churches of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) gathered for regional webinars to raise awareness about online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and share their plans for action. NCCP is a global partner of Presbyterian World Mission. Resource people from ECPAT Philippines (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) (facebook.com/ECPATPhilippines) and Child Rights Network (CRN, (facebook.com/CRNPhilippines) provided presentations to promote awareness. Pastor Hazel Salatan, a United Methodist pastor who is in the faculty development program focused on Christian education at Union Theological Seminary, Philippines, urged churches and faith communities to provide safe spaces for children.
Once rescued, survivors of human trafficking are often reluctant to talk about their experiences. That is usually out of self-protection for fear of being blamed by family and community for the exploitation and abuse they’ve suffered at the hands of bosses and employment agencies. But that is not so for Juliette (not her real name). Out of concern for other women who may fall victim to profiteers, she even agreed to have her account recorded, trusting that we would share her story with sensitivity.
LOUISVILLE — As all humans are created in the Imago Dei, no one should live in physical or spiritual bondage. Our Lord, Jesus the Christ, taught, “The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers” (Luke 4:18).
Indeed, we believe that God sent Jesus because humanity is God’s beloved children. Jesus became human that humanity might become a bit more divine. Nonetheless, we have failed to celebrate the divinity in our siblings. We have failed to completely usher in God’s Kindom on Earth. We have failed to abolish slavery, the total subjugation of some people beneath other people.
Awareness of human trafficking is more than knowledge — it also serves as prevention.
According to a United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime 2016 Global Report, nearly 71 percent of human trafficking victims are women and girls, and one-third are children.
One modern form of human trafficking is the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 300,000 children under age 18 are forced to engage in armed conflicts around the world. The United Nations and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have taken strong stances against the use of child soldiers. In 2002, the UN adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which aims to keep children from being recruited and used in hostilities. Countries ratifying the Protocol commit to not recruiting children under 18 for military service and to taking all possible measures to prevent such recruitment. To support the Protocol, the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations coordinates a Red Hands Campaign, in which more than 300,000 red hands have been made and delivered to world leaders to proclaim that children should not be used as soldiers.
Members of the PC(USA)’s Human Trafficking Roundtable (HTR) led Wednesday’s worship service raising awareness around human trafficking, sex trafficking and forced labor.
