Story originally published on August 2, 2014
Associations
of nuns across the Philippines have pledged to help law enforcement agencies
and NGOs in the fight against human trafficking in the country. The nuns are
part of an international organization called Talitha Kum formed in 2009 to raise
awareness of human trafficking worldwide. In the Philippines, Talitha Kum’s
members include local law enforcement, congregations of religious women and the
Philippine Interfaith Movement Against Human Trafficking (PIMAHT). Talitha
Kum has already helped to rescue several trafficked women in Southeast Asia. Recently, a
priest on board a ship going to Jakarta, Indonesia noticed that five women
seemed troubled and decided to speak to them. Upon hearing of their situation,
he called the nuns at Talitha Kum who subsequently called the police. The women
were returned home shortly afterward. A Drugs and Crime Global TIP Report
published in 2012 by the United Nations states that between 800,000 and two
million people are trafficked yearly around the world.
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