Roman Catholic Bishop Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa of Mutare represented Zimbabwe at a conference on human trafficking and democratic change in Mozambique recently. 

Catholic nuns have become active in many countries trying to rescue human trafficking victims. Women and girls are often tricked into agreeing to be taken to foreign countries on the promise of employment, ending up as sex slaves and prostitutes.  Men and boys are also involved, most as labour. Being totally dependent on their “handlers” who lure them into “contracts,” victims are cheated out of their passports.

The conference was organized by the Peace and Justice department of the Intermediate Meeting of Bishops in Southern Africa, which has its secretariat in Harare.