8 February: International Day of Prayer Against Human Trafficking

8 February: World Day of Prayer and Reflection Against Trafficking in Persons (© Lisa Kristine)

Christians are invited to join an online Prayer Marathon on 8 February for an economy without human trafficking.

By Vatican News staff writer

All Christians are invited to participate in an online Prayer Marathon on  Monday, 8 February, marking the 7th International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. 

The marathon has been organized by the International Committee of the World Day, coordinated by Talitha Kum, the network of consecrated life against trafficking in persons of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG). Other partners include the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Service to Integral Human Development, Caritas Internationalis, the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations, the Focolare Movement and many other local organizations involved at the local level.

Event organizers announced that with this online marathon, it will be the first time that every organization working against trafficking in persons will be able to participate in the main event together.

An economy without Human Trafficking

The theme chosen for 2021 is “An Economy without Human Trafficking.” It brings into the spotlight “one of the main causes of human trafficking: the dominant economic model of our time, whose limits and contradictions are exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” reads a statement on the organization’s website.

This 7th International Day of Prayer and Awareness, it says, “is an invitation to multiply and promote new economic experiences that oppose all forms of exploitation.”

8 February, the statement explains,  is “an important date because it marks the liturgical memorial of St. Bakhita, the slave girl who became a saint and universal symbol of the Church’s commitment against slavery.”

In explaining this year's initiative, Sr Gabriella Bottani, coordinator of Talitha Kum, says: “With ‘The Economy of Francesco’, the Holy Father has asked the Church to stop and reflect on the dominant economic model and to find alternative paths. We found ourselves perfectly in tune, since the trafficking of people is an integral part of an economy of exclusion, where the rules of the market are destroying the fundamental values of human coexistence, based on respect for dignity but also on the protection of the environment. The dominant economic model is one of the main structural causes of human trafficking in our globalized world. Through this day, let us trace together a path of reflection for an economy that promotes life and dignified work for all” …

 This article was originally published by Vatican News. Please click here to read the full text.