Shame also for Europe

“RENATE” – Religious in Europe Network Against Trafficking and Exploitation – aims at bringing together the religious of the various congregations in Europe engaged in the fight against the trafficking and exploitation of women and children. Sister Imelda Poole, from the Blessed Virgin Mary Institute, originally from Great Britain, and working in Albania, disclosed the news to SIR Europe. We met her during the meeting “Religious networking against trafficking”, held in Rome June 15-18. According to data issued by the International Migration Organization (IMO), which promoted the meeting in conjunction with the International Union of General Superiors, some 500,000 people are victim of human trafficking in Europe. First-hand accounts follow. A perfect acronym. “Two months ago we met in Holland – said sister Imelda -. On that occasion 15 religious from 8 European Countries agreed to jointly set up ‘RENATE’. The name is widespread in Eastern Europe and it’s the perfect acronym examplifying our commitment”. “We’re just at the beginning – she said -. We’re planning to create a team in charge of communication, a group for Eastern Europe, a website, and a European campaign for the European Day Against Human Trafficking (October 18). We’re currently organizing a meeting in Poland with 50 religious from Eastern Europe and 50 from Western Europe due be held in 2011”. For the time being – thanks to a team of 5 religious – the interactive “Faith” forum (Forum against international trafficking in human) was set up with an increasing number of contacts at the website www.renate-europe.net. “There’s a lot of work to be done”, said sister Imelda Poole, “listing contacts, organizing the network, considering also that women trafficking takes place from the East across the West and from Africa and China to Europe, involving a high number of women, and figures are steadily increasing”. The major challenge, underlined Sister Imelda, “is to create a truly efficient network. Since alone we are powerless. We ought to support each other as relates to lobbying, in prevention and public-awareness campaigns and in providing support to the victims. Together we are stronger since we will be able to speak with a single voice. We will share resources and support each other mutually”. Upcoming commitments include working on the demand, namely on the “clients”. “We ought to start anew with education projects in schools, helping the youth learn what goes on behind the sex market”. To this regard “the support of European bishops and of the local Church is extremely important. Church hierarchy consists of men, that ought to speak about this problem with a loud voice”. In her opinion, “RENATE will be launched with the 2011 conference, when we will have collected data on the potentials and consistence of the European network. At the moment we have a vision and a mission”. In Romania there is an inter-congregational group against woman trafficking, consisting of 7 congregations and 8 religious. Sister Raquel Dias Flores, missionary Carmelite nun, who lives in a bloc, the apartments in the grey terraced barracks erected by the regime, gave us a snapshot of the situation. “We are committed in raising awareness within the religious and Catholic world, amongst youth groups, the priests, parish workers, the families, in rural areas and across the Country. We act as mediators with the young women who decide to return. Ours is a spiritual and human form of support. We welcome these women in our homes according to their different needs”. Four girls were given hospitality last year, and were granted assistance in processing their papers, “but they decided to return to seek a job in Italy and Spain in order to send back money to their families and make a proud return home. There are still few job opportunities in Romania.” Government measures to counter trafficking are bound to get complex, said Sister Raquel, “since the National Agency against human trafficking was downgraded”.In The Netherlands the focus is on prevention. “We visit schools, academic environments, speak to women, stamp leaflets in different languages and distribute them also in the Countries of origin of the girls. We want to prevent women from being the victims of trafficking. We also help women repatriate. There are groups of nuns with reception homes and microcredit activity in their own Countries”, Elma Van Den Nouland, a lay missionary doctor member of Dutch SRTV (Stichting religieuzen tegen vrouwenhandel), a Foundation of religious against human trafficking that enjoys the support of various congregations, told SIR Europe. “We believe that if women are given the possibility of working in their Countries of origin they will no longer feel the need to emigrate to Western countries or to the United States”.