Beyond Saint Podcast

Ending Human Trafficking: Stories & Hope from Catholic Sisters

• Ira DeWitt • Season 1 • Episode 6

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Teletakoum, a global network of Catholic sisters, fights human trafficking and exploitation of women and children. In this compelling episode, a sister shares harrowing stories of victims as young as three years old, exploited through false job promises across countries including Japan and Gulf nations. Beyond rescue, Teletakoum provides shelter, trauma recovery, and empowerment programs like baking and scholarship opportunities, nurturing survivors into thriving advocates. Their faith and respect for all beliefs fuel their mission to restore human dignity. Learn about the significance of St. Josephine Bakhita, patron saint of trafficking victims, and the annual International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. Join their global campaign encouraging youth and communities to raise awareness, inspired by impactful media like the film Sound of Freedom. This episode is a vital call to end a pervasive crime impacting millions worldwide.

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SPEAKER_00:

Teletakoum is a network of Catholic sisters against human trafficking. Sister, what's the youngest trafficked person that you encountered? As early as three years old. I think, sister,

SPEAKER_01:

that it's taking over the drug business because whereas you can sell drugs one time, You can keep using a human over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Exactly. And this crime must stop. So that's why our network is spreading and has expanded enormously all over the world. It's not only for advocating, wanting, but systemic change. We need to get the value. Poverty is one factor. The migration issue is one factor.

SPEAKER_01:

Can you tell me a story? Like a particular story that you can share with the viewers, the listeners, and how your organization

SPEAKER_00:

helped? Yeah, I can share with you my own story because Talitha Koum is a grassroots-oriented. Most of our sisters working at the grassroots, what it means we are really meeting the victims and survivors at the grassroots. So one of my stories is meeting victims. And you can tell their stories, most of them, sometimes because I came from the Philippines. My mission was in Japan before coming to Rome. But I met many of women, especially the migrants from the Philippines, sometimes who were really victims of exploitation and abuse. So the traffickers invited or recruited all the women. They were being promised to get a job, especially in Japan.

SPEAKER_01:

It's like kind of a

SPEAKER_00:

hotbed for

SPEAKER_01:

human trafficking. Exactly. So they promise people from the Philippines or other countries in hopes of a job to move there to do what? What do they think they're going to do?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so sometimes they say it's okay, you can find a good job in Japan, but sometimes, you know, get trapped. They give promises a good job, but they end up doing different things. And this is a situation, and some of the women, of course, traffickers, they believe what they're promised. And then sometimes there's a contract, but the contract they're being promised to is...

SPEAKER_01:

I mean,

SPEAKER_00:

anyone can fabricate a few

SPEAKER_01:

pieces of paper, right? Exactly. So they are held, like, in a building against their will and forced to have... sex with people they don't want to have sex with, and this goes on in perpetuity? Like, how?

SPEAKER_00:

It's not only for sexual exploitation, even labor exploitation. Labor exploitation, and they don't get paid. For example, the contract would say 1,000 U.S. dollars a month, and they ended up paying for only$200. And then this is part of labor exploitation and sometimes the work in a business that they were not against their will. They've been working in the fishing industry, in the agriculture industry, and sometimes it's really in a miserable situation. This situation is real. And this is not happening, and it's not isolated in the case in Japan, but this is happening in different parts of the world.

SPEAKER_01:

I know it's happening even in the United States, and I think it comes in through our borders. And everywhere I go now, I never used to see this, but I see... Human trafficking is a problem. Even on my hotel room door at the airport, human trafficking is a problem. If you or anyone is affected by this, call this telephone number. So it must be a giant issue that no one is talking about. Tell me, sister, how does your faith help you do this kind of work or interact or intersect

SPEAKER_00:

with this? because this is our core of our identity, not only being a religious, but as a human person, as a woman. We care for human dignity, the dignities we care for. So this is my faith, and this is a response, it's a calling of most of the sisters. We cannot tolerate women or children being sold or being slave. So what we're doing is really to promote a dignity of women. We promote a human being. We don't want any more exploitation. We value the life. So this is my core of faith. So that's why we're trying to engage as many people to join our campaign to end human trafficking. And this is the teaching of the Catholic Church.

SPEAKER_01:

Sister, in like a day-to-day way, how do you guys Does another organization go save the women and children, and then you guys are a safe house? Or are you guys the boots on the ground going to save these people? How does it work?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. So we don't work alone. We can only do some. We have limitation as well. As a Catholic sister, we are religious sisters. But we do a lot of networking and collaboration, not only the non-government organization or even government organization, other Catholic organization working in the same field. So collaboration is very important in our work. So once we receive or the people come to us or the victims, we communicate with this one and collaborate with other organizations. Most of our sisters also, we have a shelter, we have a center that we accompany these women or the victims that during the process or the program of the transition and until this person as being re-recovered from the trauma. But it's not easy.

SPEAKER_01:

It's not easy. Can you tell us a success story?

SPEAKER_00:

Story of Grace. When we met her, and she was a victim from the Gulf country. What country? Gulf country. Gulf country, okay. Yes. So I cannot give you information. It's

SPEAKER_01:

okay. I just wanted to make sure. I didn't misunderstand you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. So one, the sisters met her at the airport. So we accompanied her during her process, the traumatized, the psychological and physical. So until she recovered, sister accompanied her in many ways. And then later on, we gave her an alternative training program that she can also empower what she needs. And she says, I want to be a chef. So we gave her a program, just simple baking, and now she is recovered, and she's doing her cooking in the street, and now she's granted a scholarship to become a nutritionist.

SPEAKER_01:

That's incredible. What a great story.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. So this is how we empower the women as well, so they're recovered. They can really get up from their own suffering. another person that is also a survivor. But she became a founder of an organization as well, among the survivors as well, to empower those being abused, the survivors, to form a shelter as well. That's amazing. So this person is now the founder of the survivors and also giving this program and giving awareness among them. and she recovered and she's now helping others. Yes, helping others and owns shelters as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you introduce prayer to the victims or how does, do you do any of that when you take them in as a safe haven, when Toledo CUM is a safe haven for them, do you introduce prayer into their lives at all or do you just...

SPEAKER_00:

back off from that? No, we respect whatever the women, especially women are, you know, the girls, respect whatever their creed or their religion, but most of all, they know that we are Catholic. So the sister accompanied them, of course, when they come to church or prayers, especially this story of grace. So when she Every day, the sister would go to mass or would go to prayer, and she accompanied him. So that's it, become inspiration to her. Oh, I see. You do it in a roundabout way. Yes. I love that. But most likely, we respect whatever they are doing. The religion they are. I love that. But we are also, as Catholic sisters, I don't know, we heard about St. Bakhita. St. Josephine Bakhita is a patron saint of victims of human trafficking. So we introduced this as a campaign of the Talitha Kumbh. It's always celebrated, commemorated on February 8th. I should make

SPEAKER_01:

you candles. I make candles, prayer candles that are saint-based. I should make you Saint Bakhita. Am I saying it right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

I didn't know her prior to today.

SPEAKER_00:

So, I mean, she was also, she herself was a victim of human trafficking at the age of eight. You know what?

SPEAKER_01:

Actually, I'm wrong. I know it. I know the saint. She was a she was sex trafficked and then she became a nun. Yes, exactly. I know this thing. I do know this thing. What a beautiful story she has. Yes. From Africa, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. Oh, I do know it. I mean, she's really... She's a beautiful story. A beautiful story, and that's why we carry this, and we promote this every February 8th. That's her feast day. It's the feast day of St. Bakhita.

SPEAKER_01:

I will make you guys a St. Bakhita candle, because I first heard about her from Father Dan Ringhill. He told me her story, and... She has, like, she's such an inspirational story as a saint.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. And that's why we carry on, because this is the story of Saint Paquita. And she herself recovered, you know, and she forgave her perpetrator. You know, the story that she was a slave, sold, when she was seven years old, twice already, and she became a nun. But she recovered. The most important is the freedom and dignity. That's what the message of St. Paquita. And this is how we carry this, and we celebrate it. Even Pope Francis introduced us. And Talitha Coombe is coordinating this every year to promote this campaign. We call it, Pope Francis introduced this since 2015. and this is we're already almost 11 years. February 8 is our great campaign and we invite all over the world to join this campaign, even from different parts of the world, the regions, to join this campaign. International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, and we are promoting this. So this coming February, we invited young people, as well as survivors, as well as celebrities, like you, probably. I'm not a celebrity. For the media. is to join our campaign. Our team for this time is ambassadors of hope. So because it inspired for the jubilee year, so the message of hope. There's always a hope. If people want to help Talita Combe, how do they help? Just to join our campaign, to promote awareness raising. This network is a Catholic Sisters-led network. But we also invite young people to join our campaign. And these are young people is now a protagonist among their peers because they know the language. And most of the vulnerable to trafficking are young people. So we also engage young people to give the awareness among themselves. Did you watch the movie Sound of Freedom? Sure. And of course, we were one of the, how do you say, Talitha Coombe is one of the promoters of the Sons of Freedom. Of course, I would see this as a promotion, an awareness raising against this crime, and I really admire who promoted this movie. And that's why we said the movie makers, the media, we also help them to do this awareness raising through movie, through documentary, not only the Sons of Freedom, young people really engaged this. When I went to Lisbon, the World Youth Day, many young people was inspired by this movie, and they really would like to help, just to promote, not only in the country that we know, in Africa, but Asia, but anywhere. Even in United States, this month, is awareness against human trafficking and national awareness against human trafficking. And this has been, we have network in USA that's very strong also promoting this.

SPEAKER_01:

My friend's husband, Alejandro Monteverde, made the movie Sound of Freedom. And it wasn't really supported in Hollywood, but it ended up by word of mouth doing really, really well. And people were like running out movie theaters personally to promote the movie and like just by word of mouth, it did really well. But I saw a statistic that said something like in the United States, there's like maybe in the world or United States, this is from when I was watching the movie, there's like 200 million child pornography videos circulating.

SPEAKER_00:

This is true.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, how is that possible? That's insane. That there is like a market for that many child porn videos. It just makes me think that the devil is up and roaming. We have hope. Sister, who's your favorite saint? I have a feeling I know, but maybe it's another one.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, of course, because this is our, actually the patron saint, Saint Bakhita. But one thing is we, of course, promote Saint Bakhita in us as well, and my own thing. Because I was born October 4, St. Francis is my patron saint, so I do believe. Francis of Assisi? I do believe. I love

SPEAKER_01:

him

SPEAKER_00:

too. I do believe the power of prayer, so I really ask the guidance.

SPEAKER_01:

From St. Francis of Assisi? St. Francis of Assisi. Same with Carlo Coutis.

SPEAKER_00:

He

SPEAKER_01:

was like a big devotee. Yes. I have a St. Francis candle I can give you. I think we have some here, don't we? Yeah, I have some here. I'll give it to you. You know what? I really want to make a St. Paquita candle and give you the profits from the candle, give your organization the profits from the candle. And I can send some to Italy, and we can have some in the United States that we ship.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. Thank you so much. From the

SPEAKER_01:

sale of our candles, we've donated...$300,000 to St. Jude Children's Hospital. Wow. So we'll do a St. Paquita candle for Talita Coombe. I know you're doing God's work in more than just prayer. I think it's like really putting prayer and God's work into action. I really want to thank you for that on behalf of the whole world. If you're doing such a beautiful thing to the most, like... sad group of people. Children, women, I mean, men too, but it's like people that almost like can't defend themselves. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

We have to also be aware what we are really contributing. We're probably not aware that all of us are contributing. Just be mindful, especially the chocolates that we are enduring. Chocolates? The chocolates. Like that we eat? That we eat.

SPEAKER_01:

Who would think this?

SPEAKER_00:

It's a child labor.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

Exploitation of labor. If you go to the UNODC, we have all of this, the United Nations.

SPEAKER_01:

UNODC, and we will see a list of companies to avoid. Yes. Okay, UNODC, to see a list of companies to avoid for exploiting child labor, abusing wages. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow. Our sisters in the grassroots, they go to the school as early as elementary school. Children and young people are more vulnerable. So if they are aware that this is happening, the reality of human trafficking or its exploitation, the more it can be reduced. So this is our campaign, actually. Thank you, sister. Thank you so much. Thank you.