UGANDA: Religious Women Launch Anti-Human Trafficking Campaign in Uganda’s Kasese Diocese
Sr.Sarah Muhindo, DST
Religious sisters in Uganda under their umbrella body Association of Religious in Uganda (ARU) are running different religious networks which are being funded by the Conrad Hilton Foundation. One of the religious networks funded is the Anti-Human trafficking network which is spearheaded by the Sisters of the holy cross. The holy cross sisters have formed different committees in all the nineteen Dioceses of Uganda.
On Sunday, June 23, the anti-human trafficking campaign was launched in the diocese of Kasese. This activity attracted a massive audience after the anti-human trafficking committee made a partnership with Kasese Guide Radio whose staff was used to stage a live play commonly known as Omukekera against human trafficking which attracted thousands of audiences.
Sr. Semerita Mbambu during the launch exercise asked the young people who have fallen victim to trafficking, to get skilled courses within their home country that will help them sustain themselves rather than going overseas and be mistreated even up to death.
The United Arab Emirates is a destination country for men and women who are mostly trafficked for labor according to research.
Women from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Pakistan, and the Philippines travel willingly to the U.A.E. and Arab states of the Persian Gulf to work as domestic servants, but some subsequently face conditions of involuntary servitude such as excessive work hours without pay, unlawful withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, and physical or sexual abuse at the hands of their employers.
In 2014 March, Pope Francis launched the Interfaith Global Freedom Network to fight human trafficking with Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby and initiated the Santa Marta Group, an international coalition of senior law enforcement chiefs and leaders of the Catholic Church working with civil society to end human trafficking. He also developed the #End Slavery movement to investigate how human trafficking can be eliminated.
Catholic social teaching proclaims the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of all human life. Each person is made in the image of God, is loved immeasurably by Him, and has inherent worth. Every person is precious, people are more important than possessions, and the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. Because every life is a gift from God and is sacred, it deserves to be protected and nurtured; we each have a responsibility to fight against the violation and degradation of our brothers and sisters.
