FENZA Conference: September 17, 2013
This was the theme of the conference organized by the FENZA team on Saturday 17th against the backdrop of the Antislavery Campaign celebrations and commemorations which are coming to an end this month.
Four inputs were given. Claudio Zuccala, the JPICED Provincial Coordinator, presented the historical background in which the campaign was launched by cardinal Lavigerie -with specific references to the situation encountered by the first White Fathers when they arrived in Zambia at the end of the 19th century-, and the link with contemporary forms of slavery. Brother Jacek Rakowski, director of the Home of Hope, spoke about the slavery inherent to the life of children living in the streets. Sister Sabina Namfukwe, of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Child Jesus, currently matron at the Zambia Catholic University, shared her experience in the field of fighting Human Trafficking in rural areas in Zambia, especially in villages near border towns. In her presentation she explained the methods used by the traffickers and the main causes and contributing factors that lie behind the problem.
Finally, Mr Francis Chivuta, coordinator of the National Freedom Network in Zambia and directly involved in human trafficking awareness raising and victim support, illustrated the aim, the goal and the methodology used by the NFN which was launched in South Africa in 2011 but is now operating in different countries.
The conference was made lively by PowerPoint presentations and short video clips on the topic. Some of the participants raised interesting questions and gave their own enriching contribution to the debate.
One of the strongest outcomes of the conference is the necessity to create a network of all the parties interested and committed to fighting modern slavery. That would enable us to pool together our resources and plan for the future. We are all convinced that it’s absolutely necessary to keep high the alert level and to do whatever is within our outreach to try and stop any form of slavery. It’s good to keep that in mind as the FENZA team will draw up a table of contents for the next series of conferences.
N.B. Most of the material used during the conference is readily available. Please contact Romaric Bationo at director@fenza.org or Claudio Zuccala at c_zuccala@hotmail.com