by Nadia Ramoutar  MMM Communications Coordinator                Ireland                      11.08.2024

There is a darkness going on in the world which benefits from us ignoring it. Some things going on far from us that when revealed, disgrace our humanity. There was an article recently about a coalition of Sisters working to correct human trafficking in Sri Lanka. The Global Sisters Report does a wonderful job of giving updates on what is going on in the world that might not make the main media. Within the article the statistic was revealed that about 27 Million people are being human trafficked in our world at the moment. When we pause and think about this, that is more people than the population of most countries. What would we call that nation?

For those of us living in the comfort of a loving home or community, such a number is hard to fathom. How can it be that our world which claims to have rid itself of slavery has just rebranded it? Of those trafficked, 70% are female, often very young girls who will end up working in the sex trade for life. Our MMM Sisters are involved in efforts to end this trend but there is so much more to do. I saw the efforts in Tanzania and met children prey to this atrocity.

Faced with overwhelming human failings, I think about ways to make it better. I also turn to other writers who transcend the horrors of the world in an attempt to reset our behaviours. Thomas Berry is often of great comfort to me. Berry many of you will already know, was a profound humanitarian and Christian. He questioned the role of the human community in the world, inspiring us to do better in order to respond to the ecological and social challenges we face. He lived through two World Wars and I think he saw that the future of human creation was not looking stellar. But, he also held onto a cosmic vision of a better world.

Thomas eloquently lifted humans up to a higher standard imploring us to have a more harmonious relationship with our earth and with one another. He was concerned with our consciousness and implored us to be too. Is this where we are going wrong? Are we planting the wrong seeds?

What would it take for humanity to become more conscious to where buying a girl for sex is deplorable to all of us? Could the sex trade die from no customers? The tourism sex trade and the millions of mostly men who keep it alive, I know are among us. Can we somehow create a more loving Christian consciousness where there is no market that is willing to trade in the souls of children for a few minutes of what? I don’t even know what to call what someone gets from this. Let’s carry on the legacy Berry created and rewrite this disgrace to let human trafficking be replaced by something much more beautiful.