Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Group Photo during Human Trafficking symposium |
Speaking to participants Saturday, October 16, during the blended symposium with participants both onsite and online, Fr. Jeremiah Mutuku from the Diocese of Kitui noted that the clergy need to be sensitive to human trafficking issues and take the role of educating Christians not to fall prey to traffickers.
“The clergy need to create awareness among Christians in parishes, Small Christian Communities (SCCs),” Fr. Mutuku who is a trainer on mining and human rights said, emphasizing that the spirit which Pope Francis is driving in the Church is not yet seen on the ground.
Basing his reflection on Pope Francis’ document; “Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking,” Fr. Mutuku stressed the ignorance on trafficking and the little interest to the scope of it yet “men, women and children are trafficked and enslaved globally.”
“The issue of human traffickingtouches close to our conscience because it is thorny and it is shameful,” Fr. Mutuku disclosed as he addressed the participants and continued, “There are those who, even knowing this, they do not want to speak because they are at the end of the ‘supply chain’, as a user of the ‘services’ that are offered on the street or on the Internet.”
He underscored that poverty is often the key driver of human trafficking as traffickers use such vulnerabilities to exploit individuals.
Fr. Mutuku who has served at parish level for 15 years and currently a Chaplain of a school said, “Church should engage states to come up with good economic policies where everyone should be able to remain in their own nation and secure job opportunities.”
“The most radical form of prevention is upholding the right to remain in one’s country and place of origin and ensuring that people have access there to basic goods and integral human development,” he said and continued, “Everyone including the priests should be encouraged to unmask and denounce illegal recruitment practices, engage in various initiatives within their reach and work towards a spirit of fairness and for the enhancement of legal pathways for migrants and asylum seekers.”
Aware that some priests are not conversant with human trafficking issues, Fr. Mutuku highlighted that Local Ordinaries “need to encourage priests to be trained on human trafficking” and “the work of raising awareness must begin at home, with ourselves so that no human being may ever again be a victim of trafficking.”
The one-day symposium themed “Religious’, Clergy’s and laity’s response to counter human trafficking was convened by Religious Against Human Trafficking (RAHT) in collaboration with Association of Sisterhood of Kenya (AOSK), Religious Superiors Conference of Kenya (RSCK), Talitha Kum Network and Institute of Social Transformation, Tangaza University College (TUC).
The symposium aimed to enlighten participants to be fully aware of the dynamics of human trafficking.
Other sub-topics discussed during the meeting include among others, International collaboration and networking in human trafficking, immigration rules at the borders, airports, seaports – Trafficking routes of entries and exits to combat human trafficking and the role of civil society organization.