Page 24 - English Tehelka Issue 1&2

CoverStory trafficking

On the condition of anonymity, some locals away from Gelephu town in Bhutan. This was not
talked to Tehelka and informed that more than the first time that Adivasi and Santhali girls from
3,000 children have been illegally fished from Deosri or Dagiri were trafficked to be engaged in
Kokrajhar by some non-government educational bonded labour. In fact, there are hundreds of unre-
institutions since 1998. “In the Northeast, it is a ported cases from Chirang district.
crime for the taker (persons or institutions), as well The girls were in the age group of 14 to 24 when
as for the giver (families) under the law, as per the they were trafficked, and the numbers of trafficked
Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, to take children under girls could go up to 70 after thorough investigation,
14 years of age away from their parents and their Tehelka learnt from the All Adivasi Students’ Asso-
culture,” one of them said. ciation of Assam (AASAA) and All Santhal Students
Many parents are still hopeful of reuniting with Union (ASSU).
their children from whom they haven’t heard for “We have the information that bogus place-
several years now. ment agents and some hotel owners from Gelephu
town of Bhutan have taken the girls to work in their
Child Welfare hotels as bonded labourers. Parents and families
do not have the basic information like where their
Committee feels daughters are working, what kind of work they do
or where they are,” said Ananta Murmur, vice-pres-
helpless ident, AASAA, Chirang district.
“Our sources told us that the girls are strictly
When Tehelka asked Moloya Deka, Chairman of restricted from leaving the hotels. Members of
Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Kokrajhar, to AASAA and ASSU went to Gelephu and tried meet-
take a note of the matter, she shockingly asserted,
“We (CWC) are aware of this fact and, yes, you are
right, this is going on since 1998. But nobody can
do anything.” Most of the girls
Expressing distress over the rampant child
trafficking in Kokrajhar, she said, “Trafficking is trafficked for domestic
rampant in Kokrajhar and this notorious menace
cannot be stopped so easily, because the ethnic or sexual slavery have
conflicts that led to the displacement of thousands
of poor made them a prey for the traffickers. The the same background –
traffickers in the name of recruitment agents run
• Missing kids from kokrajhar Clockwise from top left, Bidangsri Boro (10), Forida Khatun (17), Sameli Besra placement drives to lure thousands of poverty-
(16), Parbin Sultana (15), Mohidul Hoque (13), Abdul Alami Sek (10), Abdul Hakim (14), Simon Lakra (15) stricken, displaced villagers to get in their traps. extreme poverty
—Source: NEDAN Foundation
Usually, it is observed that either a trafficker is
already known to the victim’s family or somebody
from the same village or community does traffick- ing the girls discreetly by working in some of the
was handed over to a man who kept me at his house reported by the mainstream media. ing, not an outsider.” hotels. “But they (the trafficked girls) refused to
in Gosaigaon. I was told that I will be sent to work TEhElKA also found out through the locals that Deka also said, “level of education and aware- acknowledge us fearing backlash from the owners
as a domestic servant, but I was sexually abused from 1998 to 2016, children in large numbers ness among the tribal communities, especially and feeling of shame (because of their involvement
and beaten.” were trafficked from the district to Gujarat, Kerala, among the parents in Kokrajhar, is almost zero. This in forced sex work),” said Ananta.
While trapped by her traffickers, Korobi would Punjab and other parts of India, on the pretext of is one main factor why parents readily give away Most of the trafficked girls have the same back-
plan her escape every single day.“Finally, one day I being given an education. According to a source, the their kids when traffickers knock on their doors ground – extreme poverty. For example, 14-year-
somehow managed to use the phone. First thing I ‘agents’ targeted families that were victims of ethnic pretending to offer free education or lucrative jobs. old Miru hasda from hatisar, who is among the 60
did was call my brother, then the police who eventu- conflicts, displacement, unemployment, poverty, etc. This ignorance encourages traffickers to penetrate girls trafficked from Chirang. She was forced to be a
ally rescued me. Manuh bilak beya asil (They were bad On condition of anonymity, one of the parents to porous pockets of BTC which are still untouched.” full-time domestic servant to a family in Gelephu.
people).” Korobi is currently undergoing counselling whose minor daughter was trafficked in the name The Bhutanese family had allegedly taken her
and is enrolled in a school run by Kokrajhar-based of getting an education expressed fear of never get- 60 missing by promising a salary of Rs.2,000 per month
NGO called NEDAN Foundation. ting to see her again. “They threatened my daughter to her family. According to her relatives, Miru
The trafficking scenario in Kokrajhar is quite many times. If they find out that you (this corre- girls of Chirang had been taken to Gelephu by her current
gloomy. According to NEDAN Foundation, almost 16 spondent) came to meet us, they might not send her employer six months ago, but after constant abuses
minor children, all in the age group of 10 to 17 years, back ever. Please, do something,” said the inconsol- In Chirang district of Bodoland, at least 50-60 girls hurled at her, she fled and returned home. her
went missing in 2016-17. Among the missing are able mother who spoke to her daughter over the have been trafficked in the past five years from happiness was, however, short-lived. The Bhuta-
Muslim and Bodo children. Such cases are not even phone just twice in two years. the inaccessible forest village of Deosri, just 10-km nese family returned to force her back to Bhutan

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