Winnipeg women concerned about unusual encounters at shopping malls, universities

Young women in Winnipeg are sounding the alarm after encountering proselytizers whom they fear have a more sinister purpose.

Are they zealots for their faith, members of a cult, or human trafficking recruiters? That's the concern of university students and others who've been posting their encounters online, saying they've been confronted by two unidentified women who ask to talk about God and the Bible.

If the young female targets don't rush off, they're invited to a retreat and asked for their contact information. Those who've been approached at Polo Park shopping centre, the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg say it seems young women who are Indigenous in appearance and alone are targeted.

The Winnipeg Police Service is aware of the reports and its counter-exploitation unit is investigating, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

A photo of two of the women, both Asian in appearance, being asked to leave the U of W campus was posted on Facebook by a student who said she had encountered them more than once and was alarmed at their persistence. The post was viewed a U of M student, who was surprised when the pair approached her at the school's Fort Garry campus the next day.

"It kind of freaked me out," said Teren Hupalo, 21.

On Tuesday, the third-year student said she was in University Centre when two women entered the building and approached her.

"I thought they were going to ask me for directions," Hupalo said Thursday. "They said, 'Do you know about God', or 'Do you know about the Bible? Do you have a couple of minutes to talk?'"

Hupalo said she recognized them from the U of W student's Facebook post.

Their proselytizing seemed out of place, she said. Usually people at the university who are spreading information will have a booth or a table with pamphlets. The two women didn't have any printed materials nor identify themselves.

"I thought it was weird," said Hupalo, who brushed them off, saying she had to get to an exam, planning to report the encounter to campus security.

Hupalo said she worries young women alone in the city — such as students who are far from home — could be vulnerable to exploitation.

The concern about young women being targeted for exploitation follows news coverage of similar encounters in the United States in 2018.

Reports in university newspapers, as well as the Daily Beast and People magazine, describe situations involving religious recruiters associated with the World Mission Society Church of God.

It was founded in 1964 in South Korea by Ahn Sahng-hong, and its members consider him to be second coming of Christ, according to the religious group's website. Ahn died in 1985.

The group claims to have more than two million members worldwide, including in North America.

It's been publicly criticized — by some former members and cult researchers — for exercising unusual control over its members, separating them from family and friends, and exploiting them, while violating laws and avoiding transparency and accountability.

The reports from the U.S. say American universities or local police typically investigate a rumour alleging the religious group is involved human trafficking, sometimes notifying local students of the group’s presence but do little else to inhibit the group’s activities.

In Winnipeg, the U of M said Thursday students notified security services about three such incidents: on Jan. 30, Jan. 31, and Feb. 5.

The general manager of CF Polo Park, Peter Havens, said Thursday security had received no reports of such activity there.

At the U of W, however, four complaints were made by female students in the past week, and campus security took action, said spokesman Kevin Rosen.

"Our security staff promptly addressed the complaints, did speak with the proselytizers, and asked them to leave campus — which they did, without incident," he wrote in an email.

"They have not returned in the past few days. Our security staff is aware and keeping an eye out," said Rosen.

"We have a policy on access to university buildings and property," he said. "It’s not specific to proselytizing, but among other things states the university reserves the right to eject individuals who are on campus without some legitimate purpose related to the affairs of the university."

The women who approached Hupalo at the U of M could be genuine proselytizers, she said. However, their tactics are unnerving, she said.

"Even if they had good intentions, it's an eerie feeling."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca