ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 2, 2024 / 17:15 pm
“Journeying in Dignity: Listen, Dream, Act” is the theme of the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking to be held on Feb. 8, a date established by Pope Francis on the feast of St. Bakhita, an African woman who before becoming a nun was enslaved and who is a symbol in the Church of the fight against this scourge, which affects millions of people.
St. Josephine Bakhita, Sudanese by birth and naturalized Italian citizen, experienced firsthand the horrors of slavery for much of her life. The name “Bakhita” means “fortunate” and was given to her when she was 9 years old by slave traders, while the name “Josephine” was given to her 12 years later when she was baptized.
A press release from the organizers explained that “human trafficking is the process by which people are coerced or lured by false prospects, recruited, relocated, and forced to work and live in exploitative or abusive conditions. It is a phenomenon, as recent United Nations reports warn, in continuous and dramatic evolution.”
A week of activities has been planned in Rome Feb. 2–8 to raise awareness of this evil.