Ending Trafficking Begins with us. Das Ende des Menschenhandels beginnt mit uns. Terminarea traficului incepe cu noi.Dhënia fund e Trafikimit Fillon me NE. Az emberkereskedelem vége velünk kezdődik! It-tmiem tat-traffikar uman jibda minna stess. Ukončenie obchodovania začína od nás. Крајот на Трговијата започнува со нас. Terminar com o tráfico começa por nós. Fine tratta comincia da Noi. Oprirea traficului de persoane începe cu noi. Położenie kresu handlowi ludźmi zaczyna się od nas. Het einde van mensenhandel begint bij ons. Mettre fin à la Traite : à nous d’abord de nous y mettre. Konec trgovanja z nami. Припинення торгівлі людьми починається з нас. Kova prieš prekybą žmonėmis prasideda nuo mūsų. Acabar con el tráfico humano empieza con NOSOTROS. At gøre ende på menneskehandel begynder hos os. Cilēku tirdzniecības beigas sākas ar mums. KONEC OBCHODOVÁNÍ S LIDMI ZAČÍNÁ NÁMI! KRAJ TRGOVANJA POČINJE S NAMA! PRESTANAK TRGOVANJA LJUDIMA ZAPOČINJE S NAMA! Краят на трафика на хора, започва с нас
1st of February 2015 was for the Archdiocese of Bucharest the official opening day for the Year of Consecrated Life. At the meeting were present representatives from religious orders in Bucharest and surroundings. It was a good opportunity to share information in preparation for the The First International Day of Prayer against Trafficking so all congregations received flyers with a message and a short prayer to St. Bakhita to distribute in the parishes for the Mass or prayer services dedicated to victims of human trafficking in/from Romania. Adina CJ, Romania Religious from the Archdiocese of Bucharest, 1st February 2015 Sr. Adina CJ presents about Human Trafficking, 1st February 2015
„You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know” said William Wilberforce, an English politician, philanthropist, theologian and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade who lived in the XVIII/XIX century. You are welcome to study this simple flier on modern day slavery and use it for awareness raising on the problem. We thank you for doing so. We acknowledge the Institute of a Blessed Virgin Mary in the US who shared this material.
Courtesy of the Members and Friends of RENATE Network, we can share the Daily Prayer to End Human Trafficking. All website visitors are welcome to use these reflections prepared by the Sisters.
The Medaille Trust, who runs several shelters in the UK, invited Different and Equal, the NGO running the shelter for trafficked victims in Albania, to come together with 10 people from Albania and 10 from the UK to participate at the workshop ‘Cross cultural exchange’ organized between the UK, Albania and Slovenia” from November 24th – 28th 2014 on the Bled Lake, Slovenia. Mary Ward Loreto was invited to send two members of staff to be present at this cross cultural exchange. The Manager of Mary Ward Women’s Project, Ana Stakaj and the MWW Northern Areas Assistant Manager, Irena Kraja went to the event and both members of MWL staff had already established a strong working relationship with the Medaille Trust and had been to the UK to visit the shelters of the Medaille Trust and to continue with on-going work both with Albanian victims in the UK and through prevention work in Albania with vulnerable women. The following is their account of this enterprise. 1. Cross Cultural Exchange in Slovenia, November 2014 This workshop aimed to provide necessary information on the different realities of human trafficking in UK, Albania and Slovenia, the approach of working with human trafficking victims, training of staff in direct work with the victims, and also to strengthen the collaboration between the parties. This event started with a presentation of the situation of trafficking in Albania, led by Marjana Meshi, CEO of Different and Equal and followed by a presentation of the Medaille Trust Development Manager, Charlotte Kirkwood, on the situation of trafficking in UK. Sr. Andreja Caks presented to the teams the beautiful Slovenian landscapes and also the situation of trafficking in Slovenia. The methodology of this workshop included direct training, sharing experiences, study cases, team building and workshops on: – Dealing with conflict and aggression; – Substance use and misuse; – Protection and safety for the victims, – Professional boundaries; – Managing victim self-risk; – Working with child victims; – Therapeutic interventions. The facilitation of these processes was led by Diane Killian, a professional consultant on social and health aspects, hired by the Medaille Trust. Importance was given to the safety of survivors of trafficking and the staff. According to this, a training session was dedicated to conflict and fight management techniques. Participants shared their own experiences related to this and the way they dealt with issues of conflict. Caritas Slovenia, who manage a shelter for the survivors of trafficking, explained their strategy for protection and safety. They moved their premises each two or three years to different areas. D&E explained that the policies of the shelter related to staff protection, prohibit them from sharing personal information about survived victims, except their real name. Each group shared their methodology and services offered for better rehabilitation of the survived victims. The main services included counseling, skype sessions, art therapy, vocational courses, gym, involvement in the house work, foreign language courses. The participants shared their experiences relating to the collaboration with the statutory services. The UK demonstrated an experience of good support offered to the survived victims, by the statutory services. This included economic support, and health services, which Albania does not receive. Two police officers, Phil Brewer and Karen Anstiss from the Metropolitan Police in UK, heading the anti-trafficking and kidnapping unit, explained the way in which the Met police is organized to fight human trafficking through, the intelligence, the denunciation, interrogation process of the victims, the process of investigation of the traffickers, and referring the victims to the shelters or other services.
Team building
2. Cross Cultural Exchange in Slovenia, November 2014 The bonding outside the working hours was important in the fact that it was at these times that the key workers of MWW had the most effective communication with the key workers of Medaille Trust. They expressed the importance and effectiveness of the ongoing exchange of experiences and visits between Albania and UK as it provided the necessary knowledge about the culture and system of each country and the challenges faced during the mission. The importance of keeping in contact through Skype sessions was stressed as very important not only with counseling for the Albanian victims, but also between the managers as a peer group friendship support. Achievements:Development, Bonding within staffs, Empowerment, Collaboration. The final session of this workshop was to set up goals for the follow up of this event. The CEO’s of Medaille Trust, D&E, Metropolitan Police and the Manager of MWW Group outcomes were: – Expand our collaboration cross border through online assistance; – Work to find funds for having another similar workshop for the next year; – The Metropolitan Police will use their media facilities to promote the collaboration in the UK, Albania will raise awareness for further similar cross border collaboration. It was an important experience to have and it was a very enriching professional experience. The facilitators were excellent and provided techniques and information to be implemented with the MWW staff in our everyday works. We were both very pleased and thankful that it was made possible to have this experience. With gratitude, Ana Stakaj & Irena Kraja
A week-long training programme on Labour Trafficking & Migration took place in Romania from 2nd to 7th November 2014, funded by the RENATE sponsors. This was part of RENATE’s ongoing commitment to research, skills and information-sharing throughout the Network, in support of its vision to work to end Human Trafficking and exploitation. Forty members of RENATE – religious and their co-workers – gathered at the Carmelite Monastery Conference and Retreat Centre, Snagov, near Bucharest to learn about the issue as well as to reflect and strengthen the bonds that support the Network. Sr. Imelda Poole, President of RENATE presented an image of the Nautilus during her introductory remarks, as a comparable example of how RENATE continues to evolve. Just as the Nautilus continues to grow by means of growing a new shell on the back of previous shells, so too does RENATE develop. Deepening, evolving and building upon the foundations and previous work of others. A comprehensive programme was prepared, covering the following;
Migration & Forced Labour across Europe.
Labour Exploitation/ Trafficking for Forced labour.
Profile of Victims of Trafficking; E.U. Estimated Figures and Statistics.
Identification of Victims of Trafficking- Formal & Informal; Pro-active Identification.
Trans-national Mechanisms of Identification & Referral; Exchange of Sensitive Information.
Social Inclusion & Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking; Personalised Care Intervention.
Victims of Trafficking / Witness co-ordination programme.
Multi-disciplinary and Multi-agency Co-operation.
Prevention Initiatives.
Trafficking for Forced Labour with a Focus on Identification, Referral, Protection & Assistance provided to Victims of Trafficking; Co-operation.
Meeting with Victims of Traffickingat the Reaching Out shelter.
In addition to training in the above areas, stimulating learning took place at the hour-long ‘Market Place’ meetings each evening. Each ‘Market station’ provided opportunities for members to share resources, skills and knowledge of work at local level with each other. This time meant that best practices were shared in work done to combat human trafficking and care for victims.
The specific presentations provided by the trainers, are accessible on the members area of the RENATE website, with the substance of the training and interactions forming the body of the Report. Mass was celebrated at the start of each day. The Liturgy was prepared by Sr. Gabriela Korn. Daily Theological Reflections, available on the Members’ area of the RENATE website, were led by Sr. Juliet Ory. For the Reaching Out Shelter, the members travelled to meet with Mrs. Jana Matei, Director of the programme. Along with a ‘cultural’ tour of Bucharest, this was one of the special highlights of the training programme. Members met Mrs. Jana Matei and young women victims of trafficking who are being re-habilitated at the ‘shelter.’ Mrs. Matei’s commitment and care for these young women is striking. Clearly, her positive encouragement and support of them has empowering impact as they are gradually finding their confidence and recovering their self-esteem.
Each working day commenced with Theological Reflections, prepared by Sr. Juliet Ory. This focus for the work of RENATE followed the methodology of ‘The Pastoral Cycle.’ Through these reflections, members were invited to “… bring a faith perspective to the realities we look at in order to work for social justice.” (Rev. Fr. James Hug, SJ) Members reflected on the perennial questions “What are we doing?” and “What more can we do for systemic justice for victims of human trafficking?” Specific presentations, provided by the trainers, are accessible on the Members’ area of the RENATE website, a general overview follows. Read more here: Report on RENATE Training in Romania_1st December 2014_website
The campaign TWO LITTLE GIRLS is named according to a short animated film that follows stories of two young women, Maria and Jana. They were cruelly deceived by people they trusted and were trafficked against their will into prostitution. The aim of the campaign is to warn young people and specifically young women about the dangers of traveling abroad under false promises of employment. Two Little Girls will be used as a central point for discussion in workshops with young people in schools and social institutions. For this purpose member of RENATE and workers of Caritas Slovakia Anna Bartošová and Jana Urbanová have developed education TOOLKIT that will be distributed together with the DVD among teachers, Romani mediators, social workers and youth workers. They will be educated in a training on how to use the film and materials in their work. The accompanying materials – booklets, posters and fliers describe what people can do to protect themselves and how they can get help. A special WEBSITE has been created www.obchodsludmi.sk/dvemaledievcata where the film, toolkit and other promotion materials are available as well as suggestions on how they can be used. The campaign is going to be launched on 20th of November in the British Embassy in Bratislava. The film will be screened on TVs in buses across Slovakia over one month. Counting with the number of passengers using bus as a most frequent public transport, the estimated number of viewers is 700 000 in the course of 30 days. The film will also be broadcasted in Slovak and Romani languages in national and local TVs.
The Slovak Catholic Charity Caritas, based in Bratislava, Slovakia, have commissioned a series of short films, to highlight various forms of Human Trafficking, ranging from the sex trade to labour trafficking. The Film Festival officially launches at the Cinema Lumiere, Bratislava, at 17:30 on 17th October next, on the eve of the European Day Against Human Trafficking. RENATE congratulates Mgr. Anna Bartosova, the Stop Human Trafficking Project Co-ordinator with the Caritas Slovakia and wish all concerned with the production, continued success. [nggallery id=1] Click below for more information in Slovak: SK_Pozvanka_17.10._Lumiere_Film.Festival_OsL SK_Plagat_17.10._Lumiere_Film.Festival_OsL
Slovenia is holding a number of events to mark October 18th, as follows: From 1.5.2014 to 31.9.2014 Caritas Slovenia (Slovenska Karitas) had campaign Be watchful, be careful (Bodi pozoren, bodi previden) for youth from 13 to 15 years old. A series of workshops have been conducted nationally as well as a photographic competition. The winning entry can be viewed on http://www.karitas.si/pomoc/pomoc-zrtvam-trgovine-z-ljudmi/ Winning Photo of Be Watchful, Be Careful Campaign Similarly, you can view their video clip on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg91k5xVnJM Slovenian singer and Gloria with lyrics “You are not alone”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBbCxoWIGfI
ANDANTE – European Alliance of Catholic Women’s Organisations
Conference in Riga, Latvia, 3rd-5th October, 2014
Conference Theme: Poverty
Pope Francis opened the Synod of Bishops on the Family, 5th October, 2014, Rome, with these words:
“…Because we must say everything we feel we need to say, in the spirit of the Lord, without pusillanimity and without fear. At the same time, we must listen humbly and embrace with an open heart what our brothers are telling us…I can ask you please to adopt these two fraternal attitudes, in the name of the Lord: to feel with parresia and listen humbly…”
These words and sentiments describe best the atmosphere and culture which prevailed throughout the ANDANTE Conference in Riga, in the days prior to the Synod. The Conference focused on how the Andante member organisations are taking actions to address and combat poverty in their own countries as well as through collaborations with partners in other European countries. More than fifty delegates attended. Mrs. Anna Zaborska, in her keynote address, spoke of the many understandings of the term ‘poverty,’ presenting both the worldwide and European perspectives. She concluded with the stark fact that despite years of unprecedented global economic growth, poverty is on the rise. Mrs Zaborska urged listeners to understand the concept of ‘family’ in contemporary times; to see the importance of the family unit as central to society. At the same time she drew attention to the disintegration of the family unit as having a direct impact on poverty. Following her address, conversations with frank and open dialogue took place. These were the ‘hallmarks’ of the gathering. Shared belief was simply, that everyone must do the best one can do one’s own particular circumstances. Different approaches to addressing poverty-related matters were presented by representatives of three ANDANTE member organisations; Gretta’s story from Riga; The National Board of Catholic Women, from the United Kingdom and Mary Ward Loreto with RENATE. This led to lively discussion exchange of impressions and responses. The situation in the host country Latvia, was presented by a Gretta who has struggled personally to overcome poverty and now works to help others in similar need. She founded Martin’s House, which offers shelter and support to homeless mothers. Gretta spoke of the desperate situation for so many unemployed who become homeless due to the downturn in the economy. The ‘National Board of Catholic Women’ in the UK shared some poverty consciousness-raising projects in the UK. Their focus was on social responsibility and the power of working through networks such as CARITAS, and ‘The Women at the Well’ was much appreciated. The conclusion was that we need more women to be politically engaged, to be vocal and advocates for Catholic Social Teaching. Mary Ward Loreto (MWL) and RENATE presented their work to combat Human Trafficking. This struck a chord with those present and gave rise to requests for membership of RENATE. This is a welcome development! Representatives gave brief presentations on their own countries’ various activities. These included awareness-raising ‘fasting’ days; fund-raising initiatives, like candle sales distribution through parishes in Austria; voluntary telephone emergency services in Holland; as well as work with prisoners; the provision of food-banks through to the ‘Today a Reader; Tomorrow a Leader’ initiative in Germany. One of ANDANTE’S long-term goals is to seek to be heard in the political arena. It works hard to be respected and regarded as a voice of women at the Council of Europe, as well as other political and Church bodies throughout Europe. This is already being achieved as the Conference proceedings will be ‘fed into’ future meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Solidarity was saluted as a common value to celebrate and accentuate what we have in common instead of focusing on our differences. As ANDANTE grows and widens its impact, its immediate task is to identify the extent of other Catholic Women’s Organisations throughout Europe. A project to achieve this scope is likely to begin in the New Year. The final days of the Conference were spent discerning ways forward in this regard. RENATE congratulates the ANDANTE Conference organisers for all their good work! It gives special mention to the President, Dr Mary McHugh, for her energetic leadership and commitment to encouraging each member-organisation to work together to address issues of poverty. For further information about Andante, please see www.andante-europa.net Text by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person ANDANTE Conference in Riga, Latvia, 3rd-5th October 2014
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