By Felix Anthony
Guwahati: Representatives of various Christian denominations in northeastern India on July 30 pledged to fight human trafficking in the region.
“Human trafficking is a serious concern all over the world. It is a sad truth that the northeast region has become the hub of cross-border human trafficking,” said Reverend Roger Gaikward, the former president of the National Council of Churches in India and present presbyter at Christ Church, Guwahati.
He was addressing an online meeting to mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. It was convened by the United Christian Forum of North East India, an ecumenical organisation.
Moderating the webinar, Reverend Gaikward said, “Listening to victims’ voices will lead the way to helping the region out of this sad reality.”
Among those present were representatives of Presbyterians, Baptists, Evangelicals, Church of North India and Catholics.
Reverend Gaikward points out that northeastern India’s proximity with international borders makes it easy for the human traffickers.
“Victims of human trafficking are lured with the promise of employment and better life by agents and then they are taken to Myanmar through Manipur and Mizoram. Once they reach Myanmar, their Indian identity is confiscated and they are given fake Myanmar passport. With this they are trafficked across the Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.”
Many trafficked victims never see their homes again. More than 80 percent of them are pushed to flesh trade. Lack of education and awareness on the issue and poverty make the northeastern Indian youth soft targets, Reverend Gaikward added.
Responding to the grim situation of human trafficking in the region, Father Tom Mangattuthazhe, the northeast regional secretary for ecumenism, said, “Better networking and collaboration among the region’s various NGOs and churches will help curb this evil happening under our nose. As leaders of the different churches in the region, let us pledge to fight this crime against humanity.”
Officially, Assam ranks 13 in the incidents of human trafficking while Meghalaya is at 15, Mizoram 17, Arunachal Pradesh 21, Manipur 22, and Sikkim at 20. “However, these rankings may not be even correct as an unofficial record states that more 90 percent of human trafficking cases in the region go unreported,” Father Mangattuthazhe explained.
Commenting on the issue, Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati said, “Human trafficking is a sad reality of the region. Many gullible and naïve youth are pushed into to it due to lack of awareness. Education, advocacy and awareness through social media platforms and coordinated efforts by the various churches can help fight this crime effectively in the region.”
Salvin Paul, an assistant professor at Sikkim Central University, presented the situation of human trafficking in his state. Silluguri in West Bengal is the trafficking point of Sikkim because of its better connectivity. Even though the police department of the state is effective in dealing with crimes in general, cases of human trafficking go unnoticed most often, said the professor.
Rini Ralte, the president of North East Solidarity Moment based in Bangalore, Malathi, a social activist working at an anti trafficking NGO based in Chennai, Delarson Anal, a missionary from Indian Evangelisation Mission working in Sikkim and WC Khongwir from the Presbyterian Church of India spoke at the webinar.
A report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) finds the human trafficking problem in India’s northeastern region alarming and steadily growing.
“The problem is further compounded by the inadequate and ineffective legal protections The North Eastern Region is surrounded by as many as four international borders and is connected to the mainland India by a narrow chicken neck corridor along the Assam-Bengal border,” the report explains.
The geographical positioning of the northeastern Indian states makes them highly vulnerable to illegal trans-border movement of militants, arms, drugs and now trafficked persons. The most affected international borders are those that the region shares with Bangladesh and Myanmar. Lately Bhutan has been used as a safe haven by traffickers to hoodwink law enforcement authorities, the report says.