This year’s theme “Victims voices lead the way” highlights the importance of listening to and learning from survivors of human trafficking. Victims play a key role in finding effective measures to prevent this crime, identify and rescue victims, and support them on their road to rehabilitation. The goal is to have a more victim-centred and effective approach in combating human trafficking.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) notes, “Many victims of human trafficking have experienced ignorance or misunderstanding in their attempts to get help. They have had traumatic post-rescue experiences during identification interviews and legal proceedings. Some have faced revictimization and punishment for crimes they were forced to commit by their traffickers. Others have been subjected to stigmatization or received inadequate support.”
Salesian missionaries who operate in more than 130 countries around the globe work both to prevent human trafficking and to care for victims who are living on the streets and seeking a second chance in life.
“Salesian missionaries around the globe provide programs and services to help youth lead healthier productive lives and ensure their safety,” says Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “Part of the focus of Salesian missionaries in many countries is educating youth about the dangers associated with migration, which can put them at risk of trafficking, and those who might wish them harm. One of the primary ways we support youth is understanding the needs of the local market and providing training programs that help youth find work in their own communities in employment sectors that are looking for skilled labor.”
To mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2021, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that provide life-changing education, prevention and awareness.
INDIA
The Salesian College Sonada has entered into a new partnership with Rimpocha Tea, based in Siliguri, India, to provide vocational training for adolescent girls in the area who are at risk of exploitation and human trafficking.
The Salesian College was founded in 1938 and is located in the village of Gorabari. More than 95 percent of its student population comes from the hills of Darjeeling, a region known throughout the world for the quality of its tea leaves. In the Darjeeling District, there are currently 83 tea farms covering an area of about 19,000 hectares. These tea farms provide stable employment for more than 52,000 people.
The area faces challenges with people migrating from rural regions in search of a better life in more populous areas, which also puts people, especially girls, at risk of human trafficking. Compounding the problem are the low wages provided to those working in the tea industry. Many leave in search of better-paying jobs.
Local organizations working to prevent trafficking estimate that more than 400 girls are trafficked every year from tea gardens, mostly from those gardens that have stopped functioning. Traffickers first look for their victims where hunger and poverty are higher, rather than areas where businesses are stable and there are more opportunities for higher education.
ITALY
Victims of human trafficking are finding hope for a better future through a hospitality course aimed at employment in the hotel and restaurant employment sectors thanks to a partnership between the Italian Red Cross and the National Salesian Center for Vocational Training and Ongoing Education (CNOS-FAP).
Siddhi, Cindy and Ritha are among the 22 women currently enrolled in the course at the Salesian Center in San Benigno Canavese, a town on the outskirts of Turin, Italy. The women in the program attend theoretical lessons and cooking, pastry and cleaning workshops and are then provided a 60-hour internship and job placement.
The courses, part of the European project “Pathways,” are providing support and education to migrants and victims of trafficking. For the last two years, the Italian Red Cross and seven other organizations from Italy, Greece and the United Kingdom have been engaged in these efforts.
MALI
Salesian missionaries in Mali have launched a “Stop Trafficking” campaign which has already been successful in Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal since starting in 2015. A collaborative effort between the Salesian-run International Voluntary Service for Development (VIS) and the Don Bosco Mission Association in Turin, Italy, the campaign is now being launched in Mali and Nigeria.
The campaign raises awareness of the dangers of youth migration. With a focus on youth leaving countries in Africa in search of a better life in Europe, it aims to prevent young migrants from becoming victims of crime and exploitation.
The Salesian Vocational Training Center in Bamako, Mali’s capital city, currently offers four diploma-based courses in metalworking, electricity and solar energy, automotive and agricultural mechanics, and entrepreneurship. The center also awards a secondary school diploma in automotive mechanics and metalworking.
A goal of the campaign is to be able to offer these courses to additional youth in need. Salesians also plan to roll out a system to better identify vulnerable youth and make inroads in helping them secure employment after graduation. In addition, the campaign will launch agricultural training that mostly targets women in the rural town of Moribabougou.
EAST AND WEST AFRICA
The “Stop Trafficking” campaign has launched additional activities to promote development and reduce migration in East and West Africa. First, the project will provide access to education through scholarships and work grants so that youth will be prepared for employment in the current labor market. The project will also provide kits that will allow participants to start micro-enterprises in strategic sectors.
The project will work to strengthen the existing formal and informal psycho-social care that young migrants receive when they return back to their home countries to help them reintegrate into their communities. Lastly, the project will raise awareness among youth about the risks of migration. It will provide them with the resources to connect to education and employment in their own countries to reduce the need for migration. This will be done through a series of radio campaigns and cultural events such as theatrical performances, film screenings and debates locally.
