AFRICA/UGANDA – Protecting the dignity and sanctity of all human life: Kasese Diocese against human trafficking

AFRICA/UGANDA – Protecting the dignity and sanctity of all human life: Kasese Diocese against human trafficking

Thursday July 4, 2024

Kasese (Agenzia Fides) – Every human being is precious and worth much more than any material possession. Every life is a gift from God and sacred, it deserves to be protected and cared for. Each of us has the responsibility to fight against the violation and degradation of our brothers and sisters. By virtue of these teachings of Catholic social doctrine, the religious women grouped in the Association of Religious Women of Uganda (ARU) run various networks, including that of the fight against human trafficking, led by the Sisters of the Holy Cross who, during their existence, have formed various committees in the nineteen dioceses of the African country.
Specifically, on June 23, a campaign was launched in Kasese Diocese which attracted a large audience driven by “Omukekera”, a live show against human trafficking, staged by the staff of the local radio station Kasese Guide Radio in collaboration with the anti-trafficking committee.
At the launch of the campaign, Sister Semerita Mbambu urged the young victims to take up qualified courses in their home countries to support themselves, instead of going abroad and being abused to death. As research on the phenomenon shows, men and women from Uganda, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Pakistan and the Philippines travel mainly to the United Arab Emirates and the Arab States of the Persian Gulf to work as domestic workers. Unfortunately, they often face inhumane conditions of servitude, with excessive unpaid working hours, illegal withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages and physical or sexual abuse by their own employers.
In March 2014, Pope Francis, together with Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby, launched the Interfaith Network for Global Freedom to Combat Human Trafficking, as well as the Santa Marta Group, an international coalition of senior law enforcement and Catholic Church leaders working with civil society to end this crime. The pontiff also launched the #End Slavery movement to investigate ways to eliminate human trafficking. Human trafficking is quite widespread on the African continent. According to data collected by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, trafficking victims of sub-Saharan origin have been recorded in 69 countries, primarily in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries and in Southern and Western Europe. Among adults, trafficking is almost exclusively female, primarily from Nigeria and Uganda.
The Diocese of Kasesee, established in 1989 by Pope John Paul II, is located in the western region of Uganda. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 04/07/2024)

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