Isabel and Irene are just two of many abused children who have new hope thanks to a Columban organization in the Philippines.
By Fr. Shay Cullen

You may think that slavery has been long abolished. Yes, it is abolished by law, but that does not mean it has been eradicated.

Modern forms of slavery are found today in sweatshops, on sugar and banana plantations, in the lives of millions of child workers, and, worst of all, in the body-and-soul-destroying sex industries of the world.

Few know or can understand the desperation, shame, fear, guilt and terror imposed on the victims of sexual abuse and trafficking. Innocent as they are, victims are made to believe that they are useless, expendable and worthless.

They are enslaved to notions of powerlessness and accept their fate with resignation and docility. Enslavement extinguishes their dignity; their spirit and free will have been forced and frightened into submission and compliance.

Many people believe that the victims are helpless and finished, scarred for life and beyond
recovery. But they are wrong.

Many do recover and live again with purpose and meaning in their lives. We read and hear of the abduction and imprisonment of children by pedophiles and traffickers and wonder what becomes of their lives after they survive their ordeal.

In a strong, supporting environment of care and understanding, their spirit is reaffirmed, strengthened and empowered to work for others and to confront and overcome abusers. With affirmation, emotional release, sharing and support, a successful recovery can be had by those exploited and abused.

Many survivors have gone on to live lives of service, dedication and commitment to others despite what they suffered and bravely endured with courage and resilience.

Isabel and Irene have a new life thanks to help from PREDA after years of sexual abuse.

Isabel and Irene, the children of a Filipino mother and Japanese father, are the terrific twins who have beaten the odds against child traffickers and have shown that recovery, empowerment and success is possible despite the most traumatic abuse and exploitation.

Isabel and Irene’s father was working as a manager at a military naval base when he returned to Japan and left his family with a small house and some money in the Philippines. The twins’ mother had a secret live-in partner for years, and they squandered the money on parties, drugs and gambling. Soon, the house was sold, and they were impoverished.

Not only did the mother’s partner take all the property, he took the girls as his sex slaves and kept them out of school. When the girls’ step-brother saw this, he too began to abuse them.

The girls were helpless and scared and terrified by the threats to kill them both. Their mother did nothing when they begged that the men be stopped; she said they were lying.

This was devastating for Isabel and Irene, and they had no way to escape. They lived in fear and terror, and there was nowhere to go for help.
Fortunately, a good neighbor of Isabel and Irene’s knew about the services that I and others offer in Olongapo City, the Philippines.

Our organization is called PREDA (People’s Recovery, Empowerment and Development Assistance Foundation), and it is dedicated to assisting sexually exploited and abused children by providing them an environment of acceptance and understanding in society.

We are dedicated to changing the unjust structures in society that oppress, exploit and deny justice and human rights to children and women.

When Isabel and Irene’s mother and partner ran out of money and sold the house and all the appliances, they were living like squatters and had nothing. The mother contacted a local pimp and sold the children into a sex club in Manila.

At 16 years old, Isabel and Irene were turned into child prostitutes by the club and raped and given to customers. They soon began drinking and were scheduled to be shipped to Japan for more exploitation.

But that’s when PREDA received a report from the neighbor who saw the mother getting money from a pimp in Olongapo City and knew where the twins had been taken.

The PREDA Rescue Team then went to the sex club to find Isabel and Irene, but they had been taken to a house near the local airport as they were prepared to be sent to Japan.

But the exact address was unknown, and nothing could be done until Irene was able to escape and return to their shack in Olongapo City.

The neighbor contacted us, and immediately our PREDA Rescue Team scrambled to pick up the mother and contacted a police unit to assist with the rescue. They were just in time: Isabel was still in the house full of young girls being trafficked to Japan.

The flight schedule was pinned up on the wall. The pimps arrived and began to argue with the police, claiming that they had an understanding with the police chief. But the police we had with us were from a different station.

While they were busy discussing the pay off, the PREDA Rescue Team went into the house with the mother and found Isabel. They hurried her out into the van and sped away before anyone could stop them.

It was clear that there would be no investigation and no arrests. If only we could have rescued all the girls it would have been a great day’s work, but that was impossible.

Coping With The Past
In the PREDA Home for Girls, Irene and Isabel were provided basic needs such as shelter and protective custody, legal assistance, education and emotional release therapy. They cried and screamed for hours as they released their years of pent-up anger and fear and hatred of the abuse done to them.

They both gradually released the pain and hardship buried deep inside, and they were able to freely open up to therapists. Soon they were both participating in the games, group dynamics and training sessions that helped them to start life all over again free from abuse and exploitation.

The mother said she wanted the children out of our Home for Girls, but we believed this was a ploy to traffic them again. We decided instead to teach her a skill by buying her a sewing machine and training her to sew recycled drink pouches into high-quality, brightly colored bags and backpacks. She did well and was able to support herself and gave up trying to get the girls to run away.

Like many of the girls, we had Irene and Isabel participate in occupational therapy during semester breaks from school. This was a way for the girls to earn pocket money and feel a sense of independence.

The girls in our program earn good money for themselves and their families by sorting and turning the drink pouches left around schools and other places for recycling into bags and backpacks.

The girls will sit together and sing and laugh as they do this worthwhile and simple chore in their spare time. The work is light and empowers them when they go to the market and buy gifts for their parents and personal things for themselves.

Isabel and Irene have now both graduated from high school and are presently enrolled in college studying social work. One day they will be back at the PREDA Home for Girls as social workers, rescuing abused children and saving those children trafficked and enslaved as they once were.

Columban Father Shay Cullen, who has worked in the Philippines since 1969, is the director of the PREDA organization (www.preda.org), which was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 and 2003.