miniZibaldone

Maria has suffered so much in her life. It makes us think of these women, who are suffering so much. We ask that the Lord to take them to Himself and liberate them from such bondage. From the angelus The Lord looks down on the humble to raise them and we heard this in Mary's song of the Magnificat. And that song reminds us, in particular, of the women overwhelmed by the weight of life and the drama of violence, the women who are slaves of the arrogance of the powerful, the little girls forced into inhuman work, the women forced to surrender themselves in body and spirit to the greed of some men. May the beginning of a life of peace, of justice, of love, come as soon as possible for them, waiting for the day when they may finally feel gripped by hands that do not humble them, but with tenderness raise and lead them along the path of life, to heaven.  The Assumption of Mary is a great mystery that concerns all of us, our future. Mary, in fact, precedes us on the path of those...

Philippine Star  "Modern slavery" Here’s another downside of the migrant worker phenomenon: many of those 10 million Filipinos overseas work under conditions likened to modern slavery.  Australia-based Walk Free Foundation released this week its 2016 Global Slavery Index, in which the Philippines ranked 19th among 167 countries in terms of absolute  number of people living in conditions of modern slavery, and 33rd in terms of proportion of the population. The study estimated that 401,000 Filipinos, most of them  working overseas, are trapped in modern slavery – up from 261,200 in the 2014 index, when the country ranked 103rd in terms of proportion of population.  The study, initiated in 2012 by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest to draw global attention to the problem, estimated that 45.8 million people worldwide live in  modern slavery, with the greatest number – 18.35 million – residing in India and two-thirds of the total in the Asia-Pacific.  ...

Inquirer  on labor dispute A study by the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) International Court of Arbitration in Singapore showed the Philippines as not far behind more developed  economies in terms of the number of arbitration cases, especially in the past five years. [...]  At the rate private companies are locked in disagreements with the state on important projects, there is an urgent need for both the government and the private sector  to look with favor on dispute settlement mechanisms and arbitration. [full text] Sun.Star Cebu  on human trafficking and slavery Changes in mores and lifestyles increase the risks of falling victim to not just the modern-day slavery of sex trafficking but also rape and other forms of violence,  abuse and exploitation.  For instance, from newspaper reports of recent rapes emerge a pattern of the victim encountering the perpetrator while drinking alone, with friends or with strangers  in a park...