Vatican City, Oct 23, 2018 / 10:00 am
Women in Burma are working to end human trafficking, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon said Tuesday. The cardinal called the issue a big problem for the country and one which shifts focus from other conversations on women at the synod on young people, faith, and vocations.
Burma is also known as Myanmar, a name which the U.S. government and many pro-democracy activists oppose, because they say it was illegally imposed on the country by its military dictatorship.
"The situation of the young people here in Europe and in Asia is quite different. In Myanmar, the women, with the help of some religious congregations and the Church, are focusing especially on how to save the young girls and women from human trafficking," Bo said during a press conference Oct. 23.
The Burmese cardinal said that his homeland sees high levels of human trafficking into Thailand and China, and that China's "one child policy" had created a demand for the illegal trade in women and girls.