"Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or
use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of
deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of
the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent
of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of
exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation
of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation,
forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery,
servitude or the removal of organs..."
In the Kyeongyang magazine a lawyer, working for a human rights group, writes about human trafficking and slave labor in the 21st century. Part of the Palermo Protocol, quoted above, is the United Nations' internationally accepted definition of human trafficking.
The article begins with the story of Lia a girl from the Philippines who had a talent for singing. She heard about a girl from her village who was going to Korea to work in the entertainment field, and she wanted to do the same. She was introduced to the entertainment agency and came to Korea. She ended up in a night club exclusively used by foreigners, it was next to an American military base.
Lia had the job to fill the glasses of the customers with booze. Each month her quota was more than 300 glasses, if she did not achieve that goal she would receive a Bar Fine-- which meant that she would have to sell herself for sex. She refused but she was told they would send her to a even more difficult club, so she chose the Bar Fine.
Lia told the owner of the club she wanted to return to the Philippines; and was told she had a contract for 6 months, and if she left she would have to pay the debt incurred by coming to Korea. She was deceived into taking a stimulant to help her in her work that was supposed to be for health. She complained to the agency that arranged her trip to Korea, and was sent to another more inferior establishment.
The article mentions the abuses that an Indonesian citizen received on a Korean deep sea fishing vessel that was sailing from New Zealand. He received the work by giving his house ownership documents as security. He was abused, overworked and given little food. Because of the documents he left at the agency in Indonesia he was afraid he would not be making the 300 hundred dollars per month, that had been promised.
He recounts many other incidents in the article that show slavery and human trafficking is not something of the past. We may look at the past and lament at the cruelty and inhumanity of the treatment, but many have no idea of what is happening in many parts of society even today with the handicapped, women and foreigners.
He concludes his article by wondering what will future generations think of us. Are we concerned with those who are treated as slaves and have lost their freedom as humans? Our answer to that question will determine how the future will look on this generation.
In Bible & Life magazine there are five articles on copying
the Bible by hand.The movement started among the Protestants but it has
spread quickly among Catholics. When one thinks of what is involved in copying the whole Bible by hand we realize it is no
easy task. Depending on the time spent it could take many years, or for
those that are determined to do it within a one year span, a great
deal of will power, a certain amount of physical endurance and a love
for learning.
Korea's religious history includes
Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism and within the last 300 years
Christianity--all have influenced the culture. All helped to
make Koreans respectful of religion, even if they do not have any religion
or belief.
Statistics show Korea to be one of the more atheistic
countries of the world, and listed high are those with no religious belief, but
the terms used need a lot of explanation. Love of learning and
their deep love of nature opens them to the unknown and world of blessings.
The
articles show how the copying has brought blessings to the families and
to the individual in many different ways. One parish has required the copying of the Gospel of Mark before baptism. There are
parishes that have given prizes for the completion of the copying.
There are many who have copied the Bible not only once but many times.
Fathers
and mothers often give copies of the books, to the children as a remembrance of what they think is important in life, and a
gift filled with love and meaning, they hope the children will never forget. The copied books become a precious
remembrance of their parents.
One article by a priest
mentions the emptiness that some of his parishioners feel after
finishing the copying and they return to copying again. Here, the
priest mentions that even such a noble task can become
unhealthy an addiction, and wants the parishioners not to forget to use their
energy also in helping their neighbors.
Thomas a Kempis the
author of the Imitation of Christ is known to have copied the whole Bible four times in his life and the books are still existent. Before
the printing press books where precious and expensive but today when we
have so many copies of the Bible in every possible language and so easily available, with little expense, it is truly a
work of love to spend the time copying the words of Scripture. Would be surprised to hear of other countries with this kind of devotion, by so many, expressed in this way.
Where is God? Twenty years ago many would point to heaven but that is
no longer the case. However, in the Our Father we do say, "Our father
who is in heaven." Where is God? A priest who works in the pastoral
office of a diocese, in his article in Bible & Life, wants us to
reflect on this question.
He recalls the famous
words: 'the foot prints on the sand'. In a dream the writer went back in life and remembered the intimate relationship with God, but
during the times of difficulty he noticed that there were only one set
of footsteps in the sand. He brought this to the attention of God:
"Where were you when I was having trouble?" "I was carrying you during
those times" was the response.
We may be moved by these
words but the fact is we cry out when the pain is too much. The mother with the diagnosis of an incurable disease for a child or the
death of a child. The mother prays but who can blame her for being
overcome with a heavy heart and deaf to all? The person who worked hard
in his job and was fired, the person who was selling his wares along
the sidewalk and was told to move along, the student who worked hard in preparing for the exam and continually fails, the person who was
deceived by a friend who took off with all his savings; was God with
them in their difficulties?
"My burden since your birth,
whom I have carried from your infancy. Even to your old age I am the
same, even when your hair is gray I will bear you; It is I who have
done this, I who will continue, and I who will carry you to safety"
(Isiah 46:3-4).
I believe that you will save me and raise
me on the last day. But is there nothing that you can do with the pain
I am suffering now? Carried at the breast, on the back, but what is the
reason for the bitter-poison like pain that I have been made to
swallow?
When he goes up to the altar to say Mass and
looks over the congregation that has come to the Mass and sees those who
have their eyes filled with tears and his eyes meet their eyes he
greets them: "The Lord be with you."
In the Old
Testament we have God being with his people. When the angel appeared to
Mary she heard: "Rejoice, O highly favored daughter! The Lord is with
you" (Luke 1:28). Jesus in his last words in the Gospel of Matthew: "And
know that I am with you always, until the end of the world."
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Our Father who art in heaven
is rightly understood to mean that God is in the hearts of the just, as
in his holy temple. At the same time, it means that those who pray
should desire the one they invoke to dwell in them."
The article concludes with the priest saying that he looks into the eyes of the woman in pain, who is appealing to God, and in the Mass before the last blessing he raises his voice and speaks out: "The Lord be with you!"
When children grow up in a home where parents love and respect each
other the memory of the relationship is their reference point, and the
blueprint for their marriage. On the other hand, when you have divorce,
separation or children living with a parent who has remarried they have
many different models of married life.
A priest who is
working in pastoral work for families writes about the topic in a
diocesan bulletin. Children who saw love and joy in the lives of their parents, becomes the blueprint for their own marriage; when they did not
find this in their own family they will look for another blueprint: they will
vow to do things differently. Depending on the maturity of the
children they will internalize their experience as an example to
follow, or not.
Since
husband and wife have different experiences of family, this can
result in family squabbles. Mother may have not liked the way the
father was authoritarian, and the father may have disliked the mother's
sentimentality and fragility. They both may want to work against what
they did not like in their own upbringing, but this is not always easy
to do.
Not always surprising is when the parent ends up
imitating the very things that they didn't like in their own home life. The conditions of the work place can influence the workings in the
family and this often unconsciously.
Family experience
will be a great help to the young couple; they will also look for an ideal of family life from the popular culture. Those with a strong
spiritual life will look for answers from their faith life and the
family of Nazareth.
Young people have been exposed to
family life from an early age in the popular culture as seen on TV,
movies, popular songs etc.. They did not understand all they saw and
heard but has been absorbed. Often what they have received is not
going to be helpful, and forms their convictions that will
influence their married life.
Common ideas
about marriage the young have heard are many: a spouse should be this kind of person-- satisfaction in marriage should be of this degree-- married life is something to be endured-- married life is heaven, is hell--
these and many other expressions have been heard and remain with
the young.
Married life brings changes and the environment changes. This is part of the married journey. Much of the common expressions are false, and this has to be understood. He concludes the article by asking: are not the common notions that have been accepted about marriage going to prepare for the hurts that are experienced?
Recently, the law criminalizing adultery was found “unconstitutional”
by the Constitutional Court of Korea. The results from the decision have
been noisy. The Catholic Times has an article on the issue by a priest director of a research center on family. There is a fear, on the part
of many, that the sexual act will be seen outside the context of
marriage to the detriment of marriage.
The
Constitutional Court said the criminalization of adultery infringes on
the right of the sexual determination and privacy of the individual, and freedom in one's personal life; the duty of maintaining the family bond rests with the individuals in the marriage and not the government.
Times have
changed and adultery is no longer a violation of the
constitution, however, society is still swayed by Confucianism, and
religion continues to influence society. In Catholicism marriage is the
joining of husband and wife by God. Marriage opens a couple to be in service to life, realize the blessings of God in history, and share the image of God with others. In the marriage act the couple are
cooperators with God in passing on life.
Sex is not
merely a biological act but the way a husband and wife give themselves
completely to each other, and relate to each other in one of the deepest manners. With
sex the couple gives themselves to each other until death. "I
promise to take you, N, to be my husband, I promise to be true to you
in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, I will love you and
honor you all the days of my life." Catholics believe in the indissolubility of marriage and therefore for a Catholic divorce is not
possible.
For the crime of adultery to be established it
was necessary to assume divorce proceedings, had already begun. This was the practice in society. The partner who was suing for divorce, was saying they no longer were able to live with the person in
the marriage bond. The Constitutional Court saw the question as one of legality and excessive punishment. There was no need for the nation to
enter and punish adultery as a crime; it was a moral issue, where
censure was in order and not a case for criminal law to solve.
No
longer was adultery to be punished by law but was a question of
morals and ethics and the concern of religious convictions and moral values. Seeing adultery as a crime was not an area the church had much to say.
Adultery was seen in society as the beginning of divorce proceedings. Catholicism had higher values to follow,
so the issue is not meaningful for the church.
We are
sexual beings but not limited to this, we need to be directed to the
spiritual. The church goes even beyond the act of adultery to the 9th
commandment where even impure thoughts are forbidden. With the
abolition of adultery as a crime, couples have to be
concerned with the weakening of the marriage bond in society where
pleasure of sex is the only issue, and the trend towards selfishness becomes paramount, consequently, the family needs to straightened the precious standards of family life.
In the Maryknoll Magazine for January/February Fr. Gerard Hammond our local superior had an article describing his volunteer work with the Eugene Bell Foundation. This U.S. based not-for-profit organization provides medical humanitarian assistance to rural North Korea, where at least 100,000 people are living with tuberculosis. Below are some of the words taken from the article.
"Visiting North Korea to bring medical supplies to people with tuberculosis is like being in one of the passages in the Bible where the sick crowded around Jesus begging to be cured.
We do our best to enroll as many patients as possible, giving priority to those who are sickest. But, unfortunately, due to a chronic shortage of medication, we have to turn many away. Not everyone who receives treatment recovers, despite our best efforts.
Last year's visit of Pope Francis to South Korea was a great blessing for all of us, especially the people who have suffered so much after the Second World War divided Korea into two countries in 1945. The pope celebrated a Mass for peace and reconciliation at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, South Korea. Although North Korea rejected the pope's invitation to allow North Korean Catholics to attend the Mass, I hope his visit will be the spark for the beginning of a move toward peace on the peninsula and for the reconciliation of the peoples of North and South Korea.
The Catholic Church, like other religious groups, is allowed to operate in North Korea only under extremely tight restriction. It must work within the confines of the state-controlled North Korea Catholic Association (KCA) there are 3,000 Catholics in the North, but outside experts put the figure at around 800. The best Pope Francis could do was to invite to the Mass for peace and reconciliation five representatives of families whose loved ones were kidnapped by the North and 30 elderly Catholics who crossed into the South during the 1950-1953 Korean War.
On Aug. 14, the pontiff met each one of the 14 Maryknollers serving in South Korea. When he greeted me, he simply said, 'North Korea-tuberculosis' and squeezed my arm.
On every trip we provide each patient a six-month supply of multi-drug-resistant medication. On average, a patient will receive four medication boxes over a two year period. These boxes give patients one last chance at recovering from this deadly disease and help prevent the disease from spreading to their families.
Part of the North Korea trips includes 'graduation ceremonies' for patients who have completed treatment. Usually members of the delegation place necklaces of cranes ( a symbol of long life) around the necks of these patients. I am often asked to say a few words of congratulations and encouragement. I get a big smile when I promise to pray for them. I hope you too will remember our patients in your prayers."
Structures in society influence the way we think and act, some for the good and some not for the good. A university dean
writing in the Catholic Times tells us that children who know how to
play are the ones who are successful, and goes on to explain his thesis.
In
Asia, he says, we like to see landscapes with mountains, and rivers. It makes us feel at peace. However,in much of our society we are
separated from nature, and those who suffer the most from this isolation
are the children. There are many maladies and mental difficulties that
can be traced to this isolation.
Sports are good, but
other games and being close to nature, animals and plants are a great
help in relating with others, and developing the imagination, and
creativity. A Japanese scholar is quoted as saying that the children who
know how to play do well in their studies.
All parents
want their children to be leaders in society. Preparation for this
comes in friendliness with others, having a moral sense, able to
understand another's situation, and able to sustain a loss. We want a
person who is genuine, and has developed their humanity. Capability in
society demands more of their emotional make up than IQ. Nature
stimulates the child's senses, they come in contact with different
sounds and smells, they feel the bright rays of the sun and fresh air,
all help to heal, console, jolt the spirit of inquiry, adventure and
creativity.
We know that there is not a direct connection
of success in life and honors in study. Without the ability to related
with others one will not be successful in life. According to the dean,
the International Civic and Citizen Education Study placed Korean
students very low in cultural interaction skill, and the ability to
live harmoniously with others. The results have been shocking to many
in society.
Our students no longer have to go to school
on Saturdays and have the weekend to play and to develop their
emotional and human qualities. Our students, says the dean, have the
longest hours of study compared to other countries and when they go to
Sunday School and are faced with more of the cramming methods of
education it is easy to see why they don't want to go.
He
recommends another way of conducting the Sunday School programs so that
the students will be looking forward to meeting their friends and to
enjoy the time they are together. He feels that if that is accomplished,
even if they fall away later, they will remember the happy days of
their Sunday School years which will help them to return.
Here we have a
ideal situation but there is the need to impart some knowledge to the
students, and without that we only entertain which is not what a Sunday School program should be.Those who
are responsible for the programs of the students in parishes
know the difficulties and the need to make the programs more
attractive and better attended, a work in
progress.
