Vietnamese nuns work to end human trafficking

The Southeast Asian country has also seen a year-on-year increase in the number of trafficking survivors. Authorities reportedly recorded 254 trafficking victims in the first eight months of 2023, up from 222 the previous year.

Victims are reportedly lured into working abroad or marrying foreigners, and then trafficked into online scams, modern slavery, forced marriage, sexual exploitation or drug trafficking. Some have their organs harvested, while others are threatened with money to be released. Some people with disabilities are exploited to beg or subjected to chemical tests, drugs or weapons.

“It is extremely generous of the local sisters to offer me comfort, vocational training, and emotional and material support to help me heal my injuries,” Chi told GSR as she sat on the ground in her leaf-covered home.

She raises poultry and makes brooms and woven baskets from bamboo and rattan to earn extra income.

Chi, now 21, said she was six months pregnant with the Chinese man.

“I plan to entrust my child to the care of the nuns and work for a living in a bamboo and rattan products cooperative in the area,” she said.

Daughters of Our Lady of the Visitation Sister Mary Madeleine Trinh Thi Huong of Cam Lo Convent in Quang Tri province, which shares its border with Laos, said many local women are sold to foreigners in Laos and in China, where they are forced to endure harsh conditions. areas of the sex trade or various forms of forced labor. Some are sold as wives to Chinese men, who subject them to unfair treatment.

Huong said his four-member community is raising four children whose ethnic Van Kieu mothers are trafficking survivors rescued from Laos and China. The mothers, aged 17 to 25, entrust their children to the care of the nuns to avoid being disrespected by their neighbors. Their children live with orphans in the convent.

The community MP said they are also providing free accommodation and vocational skills to three other pregnant women who are victims of human trafficking at the convent. The survivors will be given financial support to deliver their babies at local hospitals.

“They live with other pregnant women abandoned by their romantic partners so that they can understand each other's experiences, support each other, collectively heal their wounds and regain their sense of worth,” she told GSR.

They help the nuns cook, tend to the needs of orphans, clean the house, grow vegetables, and hone their embroidery and sewing skills.

Huong said two survivors grateful for the nuns' help were baptized over Easter in March.

She said the local population, including ethnic communities, face several challenges. Lack of access to education and job opportunities, coupled with poverty, has made them vulnerable to human traffickers, who lure them with well-paid jobs in Laos and China, making it difficult for them to resist the temptation.

She said creating sustainable employment opportunities for these people was essential to preventing human trafficking.

“Without stable employment, they feel forced to seek work elsewhere to support themselves and their families, making them vulnerable to exploitation,” she said.

She said that scaling up efforts to combat human trafficking is not limited to rescuing and assisting victims. It also includes increasing awareness and creating opportunities for employment, education and sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable people.

The nuns provide some unemployed youth with funds and vocational training in clothing sewing, shoe making, bamboo products and traditional crafts to enable them to generate income for themselves at home.

Patients and victims of natural disasters are also provided with essential health care and food assistance to ensure their well-being and stability at home and to curb their migration to urban areas in search of livelihoods.

Sister Maria Elizabeth Tran Thi Dieu, from the Missionaries of Charity Association in Ha Tinh province, said many people are easily lured by false promises of decent jobs abroad because they see other workers sending remittances home and allowing their families to settle all their debts, build big houses and invest in real estate.

However, Dieu stressed, many victims find themselves without stable employment abroad and tragically fall prey to migrant smugglers.

In 2019, Ha Tinh province recorded about 35,000 people working illegally abroad.

Locals are said to seek work in England, Australia, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and other countries, where they engage in agriculture, garment manufacturing, mining and construction.

Some are forced to grow cannabis illegally and work in contaminated environments, seriously deteriorating their health before being sent home. Others have disappeared without a trace, leaving their families in despair.

Some die in workplace accidents and their families have to repatriate their bodies for burial, putting a heavy burden on already vulnerable households.

God said survivors are suffering the physical and emotional trauma of their experience and are facing the daunting challenge of rebuilding their lives afterward, as they are unable to repay the debts they borrowed to cover their false documents and travel.

She said the tragic incident of 39 Vietnamese migrants suffocating in a refrigerated truck in Essex, England, in 2019 while trying to enter the country illegally continues to horrify local people.

Among the victims, aged 15 to 44, 10 came from Ha Tinh, 21 from the neighboring province of Nghe An and the rest from four other provinces.

Among them, the parents of Pham Thi Tra My, 26, from Can Loc district, Ha Tinh province, were allegedly charged $21,000 for her illegal journey to England.

“The families of some victims are still struggling with debts and suffering from the bitter anguish of the death of their loved ones,” Dieu said.

She said association members from Ha Tinh, Nghe An and Quang Binh provinces “extend their condolences to the families of the victims, offering sincere prayers for the souls of members of the Catholic communities.” They also call on benefactors to make donations to the families of the victims to help them bear their financial burdens.

The nun, whose four-member community is based in Can Loc district, said the sisters are dedicated to equipping catechism students and couples preparing for marriage in parishes with problem-solving skills for protect against human traffickers and smugglers.

“We teach them that working illegally abroad is a sin against Catholic conscience and a violation of secular law. This perspective can encourage people to make informed and ethical choices about employment opportunities abroad,” she said.

She said local youth also join volunteer groups to support victims of migrant trafficking and those whose loved ones have been deceived and trafficked abroad.

She said they are now providing financial assistance to 17 survivors of human trafficking and smuggling to cover their medical care, raise pigs and poultry and fish for a living.

“We are delighted that many Catholics place great importance on family values ​​and dignity, and choose not to seek employment opportunities abroad,” she said.

Chi said she suffered suffering and humiliation solely because of the traffickers' seductive words. She would have liked to ask the nuns for advice and avoid slave labor in China.

“I am deeply grateful to the nuns for their help. Today, I try to heal my wounds and rebuild my life. »