Mariliana Morales’s life is a story of passion, courage and faith. As the young wife of a political prisoner in Chile, this internationally acclaimed heroine in the fight against human trafficking relocated to Costa Rica to raise her children in safety. Coming from a small town, she had never known a prostitute, nor was she encouraged by her family toward Christian belief. Yet in Costa Rica she was drawn to faith in Christ. She was earning a sociology degree, but describes another education—an “intensive seminary”—which she received nightly from the Lord. “God would show me the lives of [prostituted] women, and cause my heart to overflow with flames of [divine] love toward [them],” she said. Fearing death in the wake of an accident, she “negotiated [her] life with God,” and accepted the call to work for their redemption in body, mind and spirit.
Westminster – St. Paul’s in Guelph, Ont., recently hosted Morales. The congregation began partnering last year with Fundación Rahab, the organization she founded and directs in San Jose, Costa Rica. Through this holistic, faith – based mission, Morales has offered life skills and vocational training, housing, education and nutrition, psychological counselling and spiritual care to 6,900 prostituted women between the ages of 11 and 80 since 1997.
Morales speaks of Fundación Rahab as having been “born in the heart of God,” and it was a faith venture from the beginning. Morales gathered its clientele by building a rapport with women she met in bars. These women “trusted no one,” and it was difficult to speak to them about God. As she slowly built trust, she began to see what God had in mind—former prostitutes owning their own homes and businesses, completing their education and going on to college with the help of a foundation scholarship, and caring for their children. Most women stay with the foundation for two years.
Morales found allies among the police, training them to recognize the tactics used by human traffickers. She also made enemies—security cameras and bulletproof vests keep staff safe.
One of the most shocking things to us as members of a denomination seeking to walk with aboriginal peoples in truth and reconciliation is the frequency of aboriginal girls being trafficked right here in Canada.
The Native Women’s Association says that if prostitution is legalized the exploitation will undoubtedly increase. As Canada’s prostitution laws were struck down by the Supreme Court last December, and as the federal government reflects this year on what legislation should replace them, Rev. Karla Wübbenhorst encouraged the congregation to write letters to Guelph MP Frank Valeriote, urging him to resist any move to legalize prostitution, and instead to promote the Swedish model. In Sweden, the punitive force of law was shifted in 1999 from the women who sell sex to the men who buy it. This has reportedly cut street prostitution in half.
Canada has no national initiative to combat sex trafficking or to enforce minimum sentences on sex traffickers and sex tourists. MP Joy Smith has been working in Ottawa toward these ends, and Morales will be meeting with her.
As Christians, hearing the stories of trafficked women awakens a faith memory of the days when abolitionists stood against slavery out of a conviction that God is still a liberator and that His kingdom can be seen in the redemption of the sold. In 2009, Morales was recognised by then – U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton as a “heroine against modern slavery.” Westminster – St. Paul’s is grateful for the privilege of partnering with her in this powerful work.
Video
http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=316210
About Gladys Robson
Gladys Robson is a member of Westminster-St. Paul’s, Guelph, Ont.
