U.S. official commends Catholic response to “Slavery at Sea”

[Hatikvah]

Kari Johnstone, Principal Deputy Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, came to Rome to attend an advisory group meeting on maritime human trafficking. In media interviews with Catholic News Service, EWTN and Vatican Radio, s**he said the Pope’s engagement with the issue of human trafficking has positively impacted efforts to fight it, and she commended Catholic pastoral workers who aid victims.
**
In an interview with Catholic News Service, Johnstone said migrants can be tricked into staying on dangerous ships for long periods of time, with little regulation or even knowledge of their work and whereabouts.

Johnstone told CNS that **pastoral workers often provide the first aid to victims and have extensive knowledge of the issue. **Meanwhile, combating human trafficking is a shared priority of both the United States and Pope Francis, whose attention has been instrumental in raising awareness of and focusing resources on the problem.

From the Holy See’s US embassy website: va.usembassy.gov/u-s-official-commends-catholic-response-trafficking/

 

[abucs]

Thanks for the posting.

There’s also the case of stateless people who travel between countries by boats as nomads. These people are particularly exposed to being enslaved.

It is heartening to see movement on these issues by such organisations as the churches, etc