2010-05-28 16:02:26

Southern African bishops draw attention to human trafficking during FIFA World Cup


(May 28, 2010) Bishops of southern African nations are trying to bring global attention to the problem of human trafficking in their region. The prelates, collaborating with the group Planet Waves, organized a meeting last week on the phenomenon, which affects an unknown number of people. Bishops’ conferences of Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe were represented at the meeting. It's estimated 300 people a week enter South Africa illegally from Mozambique alone. Trafficking in the region is "complex and is fuelled by a wide range of factors and these include poverty, dysfunctional economies, conflicts and demands for cheap labour," the bishops noted in a communiqué, Fides reported. "The exact number of people who are lured into trafficking in the area remains unknown because of the non-availability of official statistics on this scourge." The Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa is formed by the bishops' conferences of Angola and Sao Tome, Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland, Losotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The prelates lamented that their governments give too little attention to the problem, though they are aware of it. However they affirmed, "Religious groups can play a significant role in raising awareness and acting on this issue with the support of their governments to curb this problem." Earlier this month in South Africa about 1,000 people gathered in Pretoria to pray for an end to human trafficking. It is estimated that as many as 40,000 sex workers and prostitutes will be imported to South Africa during the World Cup.







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