Anti Human Trafficking event with Serve the City
Last Updated: 02 July 2018
by Giacomo MANCA
On Wednesday 20 of June, the EU Affairs Office participated in an informative event organised by Serve the City, an organisation based in Brussels coordinating and offering citizens the opportunity to help concretely people in need through a wide range of volunteering programmes.
The event, which dealt with Anti Human Trafficking, aimed at raising awareness on the multiple faces of this phenomenon and its widespread reality, as well as the lack of knowledge on it and the strong risk of impunity that it represents for traffickers perpetrators.
The panel, Chaired by Carlton Deal, director of Serve the City, gathered several stakeholder, engaged in fighting trafficking in human beings on various aspects. Zoi Sakelliadou, Policy Officer in the office of the European Anti- Trafficking Coordinator explained the work of the European Commission on this aspect, concerning its engagement in monitoring the progress in counteracting human trafficking, its relations with the Civil Society and the funding opportunities.
Other speakers came from the grassroots civil society, as Johanneke, founder and director of the NGO Cherut Belgium, which operates in the red lights district of Antwerp providing support and relief to prostitutes, and trying to help and rescue the many victims of trafficking among them. Johanneke and her fellow volunteers try to build up trust relationships, and inform prostitutes that help is available for those who want to change life or escape from their exploitation.
A similar work is held by Ali Ussery from Haven of Light CIC / Hafan o Oleuni, who joined through skype conference from Wales describing the main challenges linked to her job in her territory, while Jennifer Tunehag from the European Freedom Network and John Richmond from the Human Trafficking Institute provided a more academic approach.
The Salvation Army was represented by Ruth and Malaika, who explained the work of the Army in addressing both causes and consequences of trafficking in the world and the work in Anti Human Trafficking in Europe. Ruth introduced the work of The Salvation Army in raising awareness, preventing, rescuing victims and rehabilitating them, while Malaika went through the main shortcomings of the legal system quoting the example of the Netherlands, and described the main signals of vulnerability which can help in identifying a victim of human traffic.
Serve the City, which works already with the headquarter of the Salvation Army in Belgium organising a weekly warm meal for people in difficulties, is committed to raise awareness in its volunteers on contemporary issues, and constantly looks for areas of opportunity to increase its impact towards the people who are the most in need.
Tags: Europe