South Sudanese Catholic Diocese Warms Up for Mega Campaign to Protect Refugees Vulnerable to Human Trafficking

The cry to end human trafficking is loudest in CDTY, which borders the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Instability rocks both countries and, according to Dapu, South Sudanese who end up in either of the two countries, hoping to land greener pastures, are conscripted into local militia. South Sudan is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the DRC to the southwest, and the CAR to the west.

“Most South Sudanese who have been replaced are refugees in all the six countries bordering South Sudan,” Dapu told ACI Africa in an interview on January 29. He added, “In Kenya, there are South Sudanese in Kakuma camp. There are many South Sudanese in camps in Uganda, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the Central African Republic, and even in Chad and in Libya. South Sudanese are scattered all over the place.”

Other South Sudanese are internally displaced and are living in Protection of Civilian Camps (POCs), Dapu further said, and continued, “All these people are vulnerable to human trafficking.”

“A South Sudanese living as a refugee in another country doesn’t have access to basic necessities such as food and education. This way, they are easily lured by human trafficking agents who come to them offering them education, jobs, and better living standards,” he said. 

According to Dapu, refugee camps are fertile ground for human traffickers. He shared with ACI Africa in the January 29 interview that many South Sudanese are stranded in Egypt, in Libya and far away in Lebanon, where they have been smuggled.

“The State where I am borders DRC and CAR. Rich Congolese who have established themselves in the mining sector come here and promise the people of gold riches. On getting to DRC, they realize that they were lied to and are instead conscripted into local militias,” Dapu said.

He further recounted, “Many South Sudanese are dying in the ongoing war in Goma because they went there thinking they would become rich, only to find themselves on the war front. The same is happening to South Sudanese who are lured to go to the CAR and find themselves fighting alongside local armed groups.” 

With a vast majority of the South Sudanese uneducated, many in the country are also falling prey to traffickers who promise them of education opportunities abroad, only for them to end up as slaves away from home.

“In South Sudan, women and girls are the most uneducated. Beautiful girls are lured out of the country on the pretext that they are going to be taken to school, only to find themselves working in brothels in other countries,” Dapu says. 

And with the ongoing civil war in Sudan, many South Sudanese girls who were taken to work in the embattled country as house girls, and young boys in factories, are now stranded there, Dapu says.

He says that the Church in South Sudan has been active in campaigning against human trafficking. “Most radio stations here are owned by the Catholic Church. Bishops and Priests use the available media platforms to pass information through their homilies and reflections,” he says.

The only challenge in combating human trafficking, Dapu says, is bureaucracy. He says that in the East-Central African country, anything that happens, including simple gatherings, must obtain a nod from the government.

Dapu also highlights challenges in accessing the internet which he says is also very expensive and unreliable. “We spent over 10 dollars a day on data alone,” he says, adding that the country’s bad roads and lack of security also make sensitization campaigns difficult.

For the campaign against human trafficking that PACTPAN is spearheading, CDTY has mobilized over 1,300 people to participate in the February 8 event.

The Diocese has formed a team of 35 very well trained and knowledgeable people who are in charge of the logistics of the campaign, Dapu told ACI Africa, adding that they are the ones in charge of ground preparation, awareness creation and mobilization towards the event.

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He said the organizing committee has already had a series of meetings with the Local Ordinary, Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala, to design the program of the campaign.

“Our Bishop Hiiboro has promised to support this program. He has assured us that there will be Holy Mass and prayers bringing on board various religious groups. He has also assured us that there will be meetings with community leaders and elders to sensitize them about the challenge of human trafficking,” Dapu said.

On Friday, February 7, the South Sudanese Catholic Diocese plans to showcase the life of St. Josephine Bakhita who herself was a victim of human trafficking and slavery.

CDTY has also made arrangements for promotional materials such as banners, T-Shirts, as well as refreshments for all who will be participating in the event. 

“We are doing everything in our capacity to ensure that the day becomes historical,” Dapu said, adding that CDTY plans to create a devotional group in the mane of St. Bakhita, where devotees will seek her intercession to end human trafficking.