She was born near Jebel Agilerei in South Darfur (Sudan).
She was captured as a young girl and experienced slavery, being sold many times.
After being rescued by an Italian family, she was brought to Italy and became a Christian. She then joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity.
She is the patron Saint of modern slavery and human trafficking.
She had personally suffered a lot during the trauma of being a slave. So much so that she had forgotten her original name.
As a nun she was able to be a source of encouragement to many. She cooked and embroidered. Her smile touched the lives of many. She was a humble and simple-living person.
As she came close to death, she relived the trauma of slavery!
Human trafficking is still very real today. It is not a thing of the past. It happens even here in Australia.
In some parts of the world human beings are exploited in sweat-shops, providing cheap clothing and other materials which we benefit from here in Australia.
The sex industry has also often trapped people with visa complications. These people are another form of modern slavery.
In some countries, political prisoners are often treated as slaves. Here again, they are forced to work under substandard conditions producing materials often for sale here in Australia.
There are many attempts being made here in Australia to try to identify products that are not ethically produced.
The Australian Association of Catholic Religious have been working with other groups to try to identify these products.
As we discover more about these things, it would be good for us to be Christian witnesses and let these companies, who deal in these matters, know that it is not acceptable.
Jesus said “I have set the downtrodden free”.
