The 3rd RENATE Assembly will see the formal installation of the incoming RENATE Core group, following their election to office at the RENATE Working Board meeting 8-13 May 2022, in Ravenstein, the Netherlands, following a prayerful discernment process.

The following are the members of the new RENATE core group:

1. Mrs. Ardita Keraj Korriku (Albania).

2. Ms. Ivonne van de Kar (the Netherlands).

3. Sr Judit Knab, SCSC, (Hungary).

4. Mr. Jakup Sabedini (Kosovo).

5. Mrs. Joanna Terzieva (Bulgaria).

6. Sr Marie Power, HFBX, (UK).

7. Ms. Rania Ioakeimidou (Greece).

The new Core Group will draw upon their collective gifts and talents to implement the new mandate coming forth from the Assembly in Fatima, Portugal, 13-19 November 2022.

We heartily congratulate the team who, we know, will bring a collective wealth of experience to the role. RENATE invites your prayers for this new team that they may be filled with fortitude and wisdom as they prepare for this new call to mission as the leadership team of RENATE.

Celebrating together the Tenth Anniversary of Talitha Kum click here for more information.

The September 2019 issue is available at the following link: http://www.stopenslavement.org/ To access and download, click on the ‘photo’ of the first page or click the ‘current issue’ link.

Brace yourself for this month’s issue as it comprehensively reviews the extent of Child Trafficking globally.

The backdrop to the exploitation of Filipino children sets the tone and is followed by features on  Child Sex Tourism; the concept of ‘’Predators;’’ How Children bond with their traffickers; the potential dangers to children of hanging out online and more.

There is a particularly informative section on Safeguarding Children and the use of online apps. and alerts regarding same.

Congratulations once again to Jean Schafer, SDS, for her stellar work!

Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.

On the 30th of July 2019, I was invited to attend a show given by young Indian survivors of Trafficking coming to Europe (St James of Compostela, Belgium and Rome, as far as I know). Sylvie Bianchi (from SAMILIA) has been attending a presentation on Human trafficking I gave in our community which is located in the red-light district of Brussels, so I went to “La Tricoterie”, a very special place welcoming the group and many other activities.

We had a beautiful moment, as the girls play their own journey through trafficking and surviving, from their childhood up to now: students or formators…

In turn, they very simply play their own stories and their story together, sometimes interacting with the attendance (200 people or so) and it was emotional indeed when they were in tears while going through their painful past…

14 girls from

17 to 23 years old

Every 10 or 15 minutes, they invited us to join in, or playing with them, or answering a few questions or asking for our reaction to the play.

This above part of the play was one which shew us how they were shackled by being trafficked, and the way they got out of it, with a large scarf they bounded them in.

At the end of the play, I told them: “We all have to learn from you” …

And then the UN Ambassador gave them all a present and sung for them to thank them and their staff for their play and above all for their courage!

https://www.facebook.com/FondationSamilia

Marie Hélène Halligon

“The Red Light Express”

On 20th July 2019, Malta launched the National Education campaign on Human Trafficking. The launch took place in the Cardinal`s Hall at the Inquisitor`s Palace in Vittoriosa ( Birgu).

RENATE member, Sr. Margaret Gonzi, olcgs, attended, representing the domestic violence shelter Dar Merhba Bik Foundation. Margaret was delighted to attend and took the opportunity to network with the invited guests and also promote the work of RENATE. Margaret believes that ‘Human Like You’ campaign will educate people on the different forms of human trafficking in society, with educational campaigns highlighting real-life cases, how they occur and how one can protect oneself from vulnerability to trafficking.

“People think it’s only illegal immigration and sex work, but there is more to human trafficking than we think,” Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms Julia Farrugia Portelli said. A consultation process on human trafficking will be undertaken by the government, putting at the forefront the people’s views and opinions on the issues. “When the consultation process is complete, we will go back to people with viable solutions,” the parliamentary secretary said.

At the forefront of the campaign is a newly launched website which features real stories of people who were the victims of human trafficking, available at: https://trafficking.gov.mt/en/

Margaret is keen to follow up on this Human Trafficking awareness-raising campaign and looks forward to the success of the campaign as it extends across the country.

UK’s former anti-slavery commissioner Kevin Hyland, OBE, has been in Austral-Asia in July, meeting political and business leaders and discussing the crime of Human Trafficking and Exploitation.

Currently, despite being illegal worldwide, 40-45 million people live in slavery, one quarter of whom are children. Two thirds of modern slaves are held in the Austral-Asia region, the largest number of slaves the world has ever seen.

A panel of experts got together recently in New South Wales Parliament House, Australia,  to discuss modern slavery, forced slavery and human trafficking.

Log on to the following link, to hear Kevin’s interview with Andrew West of ABC  broadcasting studios, Australia.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/slavery/11313704