SEVERAL key stakeholders and watchmen of the City have signed up for a workshop on human trafficking, presented by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation on Wednesday.
The exclusive workshop is spearheaded by evangelist and pastor, Caroline Pitout of the AGS Kerk Sonder Mure, who locally initiated a very successful anti-slavery awareness campaign in support of the CNN Freedom Project and International Shine a Light on Slavery initiative.
Following coverage in the Zululand Observer, her efforts sparked the interest of the CNN Freedom Project and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in Durban, who offered to train key role players on the grotesque global phenomena of trafficking in humans.
Two years ago, Caroline, driven by a passion for souls, the lost, the hurt, the poor, the forgotten and the destitute, took to the streets of the City with a small team, to support and counsel sex workers, but returned disillusioned and in need of new strategies.
‘Because the girls on the streets are mostly also working for a procurer or a so-called pimp, they were afraid to speak to us, and when they actually did, we heard very shocking stories.
‘We had, of course, no way to verify the accuracy of the information, but they told us that there were girls who had disappeared leaving no trace, because no one really took note of their whereabouts.
‘When we realised that we would not be able to speak to them effectively, we took food to the streets and distributed what we could, but the girls were terrified to approach us under the watchful eyes of their pimps.
‘They would even run away as soon as we approached and even begged us to go away.’
Eventually realising that they could be putting the women under more stress, the group withdrew to strategize, eventually settling on counselling and spiritual guidance on an individual basis and driving awareness campaigns.
‘We need to take hands as a community and combine our efforts to reach people at risk. I have a great expectation that the meeting of stakeholders at this workshop, empowered by such high calibre training, will yield fruit and that we will make a difference in people’s lives who are facing hardship, humiliation and abuse on the streets daily.’
