By Matters India Reporter
Jashpur: Working against human trafficking is a huge challenge, says a member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) congregation working in Chhattisgarh state, central India.
“Working against the human trafficking in India is the most challenging task. It is a road less-traveled. It is a life-threatening apostolate, yet for the love of those women, we have to rescue, save and rehabilitate those victims of slave industry,” Sr. Anne Jesus Mary, director of Jeevan Jharna Vikas Sansthan (JJVS, institute for the development of life stream), Jashpur, told Matters India.
On April 22, Sr. Anne addressed on human trafficking conditions in the state of Chhattisgarh to a group of 50 priests and nuns who held a day-long CRI (Conference of Religious India) regional meeting in Jashpur.
She spoke about the South Asian network of sisters working against trafficking, AMRAT, that comprises trained social workers, counselors, lawyers and many other professionals committed to confronting modern slavery. AMRAT members in India number about 600. Sr. Anne is one of them.
The nun also shared how she and her JJVS try to rescue and rehabilitate trafficked girls and women with the help of the Chhattisgarh government and a network of other civil society groups.
“On account of our work, I often get life-threatening messages. It is a risky work yet we have to do for the love of those girls and women,” she said.
There is a greater need for more church personnel to involve in this type of apostolate, she added.
The official data say that about 330 women and 230 children go missing and are feared trafficked every day in Chhattisgarh. About 65,000 women and children were trafficked from Chhattisgarh during 2001–2013 and among them 40 percent still remain untraced.
Chhattisgarh, a predominantly a tribal (Adivasi) state, was carved out of Madhya Pradesh state in 2000. It is one of the top five states with a covert but well spread and thriving human and child trafficking racket that targets women, young girls, and children.
Trafficking is reported from various districts of the state including Raipur, Korba, and Sarguja. Jashpur district accounts for nearly 70 percent of the trafficking cases being reported in Chhattisgarh.
Although rich in minerals and forest produce, the backwardness due to illiteracy, the prevalence of Maoism, apathy from government departments and lack of employment opportunities induces massive migration.
Factors like abject poverty, widespread substance abuse, the absence of basic facilities and lack of educational and employment opportunities are major contributors to the rise in child trafficking incidents in Jashpur district. This makes Jashpur the child trafficking capital of not only Chhattisgarh but also of India.
Most of the children and girls are lured and trafficked from the state for employment in city households, industrial and manufacturing units, hotels, fishing trawlers, mines/quarries, and construction sites. Many girls are trafficked from Jashpur and Chhattisgarh to Punjab and Haryana for marriage purposes and a large chunk of them may eventually end up in the flesh trade.
The FMM sisters are present in the land for more than 60 years undertaking educational-health-socio-pastoral activities for the integral development of indigenous people.
Under the leadership of Sr. Anne and JJVS, a registered NGO in 2006, the team has spearheaded a movement to curb the menace of trafficking. For the last seven years, more than 100 women and young girls have been rescued and rehabilitated in the Adivasi society.
Several programs and activities are geared to address the thrust areas such as protecting tribal land, tribal migration, livelihood options, women empowerment, community health activities, village development and youth empowerment.
With the support and partnership of UNICEF Raipur, particularly its Child Protection Officer Ms. Gargi Saha, JJVS was able to pioneer in the anti-trafficking activities from the year 2011.
The human trafficking industry throughout the world makes around $150 billion a year – more than Amazon, General Electric and Verizon – and it’s growing, says the International Labour Organization (ILO).