Aliwal, 02 February, 2023 / 8:23 pm (ACI Africa).
South Africa “is a hotspot for traffickers”, the Liaison Bishop for Migrants, Refugees, and Human Trafficking at the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has said, and called upon South Africans, especially the youth, to exercise vigilance.
In a Thursday, February 2 statement, Bishop Joseph Mary Kizito also called on the people of God in South Africa to dedicate the month of February to creating awareness about human trafficking.
“South Africa, as we know, is a hotspot for traffickers. We appeal especially to our youth to be vigilant,” Bishop Kizito says in the statement issued ahead of the Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita on February 8, the patron saint of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Bishop Kizito has also called on parents to protect their children, saying, “The best gift you can give your children is to love and safeguard them.”
The Bishop of South Africa’s Catholic Diocese of Aliwal Diocese says traffickers are turning to social media for recruiting and grooming their victims.