In the summer 2015 issue of La Salle Magazine, we profiled Aida Marcial, ’02, who has established herself in recent years as one of the premier global investigators of child abuse and human trafficking cases. Her work often takes her abroad to countries rife with human rights violations and corruption.

The following account of Marcial’s recent trip to Bolivia, written in her own words, offers deeper insight into the many ways she continues to fight against these injustices in her ongoing effort to defend and extend human rights.

In March 2015, I returned from Bolivia where I had been invited by the Bolivian National Police and sponsored by the Denmark Bolivian Embassy to teach approximately 100 police officers from nine major Bolivian cities. These officers are part of Bolivia’s new 1,000-member police unit is called Fuerza Especial de Lucha contra la Violencia (FELCV), which roughly translates as “Task Force against Violence.”

The specially trained FELCV police officers investigate crimes against women and children, specifically human trafficking, child abuse, domestic violence, and femicides—homicides of females, a new type of police concentration primarily labeled as such in South American countries. Some of the training I covered included undercover operations, report writing, and interviewing and interrogation.

After teaching the Bolivian police, I worked with Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro—the Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia (Ambassador to the Vatican)—and Bishop Cristobal Bialasik, regarding a refugee matter involving Sisters who belong to the Hijas de la Caridad de San Vicente de Paúl order. The Sisters reside in a dangerous and remote town called Pisiga, Bolivia, which is approximately 14,000 feet above sea level, with little water pressure and infrequent electricity. This remote village is simply a porous border checkpoint crossing into Chile.

I was tasked with conducting a border risk and security assessment for the Sisters whose poorly equipped and unsafe shelter is approximately 200 to 300 yards from the Bolivian/Chilean border checkpoint. The Sisters’ shelter protects refugees who attempt to cross the border each day from Bolivia, Columbia, Paraguay, and other countries. Often, these refugees are rejected—legally and illegally—by Chilean and Bolivian border authorities. Some refugees are subsequently tortured, sexually assaulted, and stripped of their little money and belongings, among other human rights violations.

The Sisters find themselves facing danger in protecting and providing shelter to these refugees each day. According to the Sisters, many of the refugees are lured into Chile via the Pisiga border for a better way of life. Some refugees have been enticed by human traffickers, namely recruiters called “coyotes,” who are known by the Sisters and local people to travel in vehicles and caravans through the desolate Pisiga roads that lead into Chile. For large crossing fees, the victims can find themselves being trafficked from Bolivia across the Chilean border by coyotes for labor, sex, or even drug trafficking—instead of being driven to a safe destination as they had been led to believe.

All of this comes at a great price to the victims and their families who, at times, are trying to cross the border legitimately. Insidious border corruption also adds to the problem. The Catholic Sisters, who attempt to help the victims with these matters, can frequently find themselves in dangerous circumstances because of their daily mission.

At this time, the Sisters are constructing a better home to safely protect themselves and the many people who find their way to the shelter.

For more information about the Sisters, visit http://filles-de-la-charite.org/integral-mission-to-be-at-the-frontier-bolivia.