October 18, 2024 marked the European Anti-Trafficking Day. The European Commission has launched the awareness-raising campaign “End human trafficking. Break the invisible chain”, aiming to inform citizens of the reality of this crime. To continue raising awareness about the situation of trafficking victims, and to promote and protect their rights, the Women's Ministries Dept. and Youth Ministries Dept. of the Alenza-Madrid Adventist Church joined A21's silent march: “Walk for Freedom”. A21 is a global organization that leads the fight against human trafficking and organized several silent marches in Spanish cities entitled: Walk for Freedom.
Together with a large number of people the women and youth from the Adventist Church of Alenza-Madrid walked in single file, in silence and dressed in black, as a sign of mourning. They also handed out leaflets about this scourge all along the route.
Invisible, and mostly women and children
While thousands of victims of human trafficking are recorded in the EU each year, many more remain undetected. A large part of the victims (37%) are EU citizens who fall victim to different forms of trafficking, such as sexual exploitation, labor exploitation, and forced criminality. Most are women who end in sexual exploitation.
Trafficking in human beings is a high-profit crime. The annual worldwide profit that traffickers make is estimated by the International Labor Organisation (ILO) at USD 236 billion. In the European Union, 55 of the most dangerous criminal networks are engaged in human trafficking.
The Adventist Church of Alenza against trafficking
From the Women's Department of Alenza, we want to say: NO TO TRAFFICKING! We cling to the words of hope that God has left us in his word in Isaiah 61:1 NIV “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
May these words be a reality in our lives, and may we be messengers of hope.
Adapted from a report by Ramielys Mejía, for the Women's Ministries department at the Madrid-Alenza Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Data source
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