Human trade: Archbishop strokes alarming cruelty

Human trade: Archbishop strokes alarming cruelty

Buenos Aires, Argentinien - Trade with people is booming relentlessly, and the extent of this dark reality is becoming increasingly clear. Argentine Archbishop Jorge Lozano vividly presented the perfidious methods of human trafficking in his home country. In a guest post for the newspaper "La Nación" he spoke about criminal networks that attract desperate people with supposedly serious job offers. More than 200 applicants had already applied for only three jobs. These unscrupulous groups force their victims for forced labor, prostitution and even organized begging. The reports about young people who disappear without a trace are particularly alarming while they go to school or in clubs - topics that quickly disappear from the news, but have devastating consequences in everyday life, as Lozano notes, as kathpress reported.

urgent appeal to combat the crime

In his description, Lozano called for a comprehensive reaction of the governments. There is no political determination to combat human dealers, who are often also involved in other criminal business, including drug and arms trade. These circumstances make it easy for the perpetrators to continue their merciless deeds without fear of consequences. According to estimates, legal steps are only taken in a small part of these cases. Of 5,776 cases reported since 2021, only 490 led to convictions. It is particularly tragic that 78.6 percent of the identified victims are women, while 74.3 percent of cases affect sexual exploitation.

These serious topics were also dealt with at the meeting of the Santa Marta Group in the Vatican, where Pope Francis again denounced the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery. In talks with over 30 experts from all over the world, he emphasized that help was essential for the victims. The Pope asked to take on any responsibility and no longer ignore the injustice. According to the "Global Slavery Index 2016", more than 45 million people live in conditions of modern slavery worldwide, an alarming number that underlines the urgent need to act against these cruel offenses, as katholisch.de reported.