Trafficking in Northeast India takes new form; girls trafficked in the name of ’employment’

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~~ By Ibankyntiew Mawrie

A special article on the occasion of World Day against Trafficking in Persons

In a world where technology has overcome many physical barriers and turning into a significant part of life, a cursory look at the impact of technology in our day to day life is equally important so as to enable us to know about the its challenges as well as benefits.

It is a known fact that technology has opened not just the doors of opportunities for growth but also the virtual gateway for criminals to lure the victims into their trap and one of such crimes is 'online trafficking'.

As the world observes the World Day against Trafficking in Persons today, the present scenario in the Northeast India is however, dismal with the increase in the rate of trafficking cases in the region.

It was informed that criminals/traffickers dwells into the virtual world to further their business owing to the fact that internet is a storehouse of young people.

As per the details available with Impulse NGO Network, as many as 57 cases were registered with the respective Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) in the North eastern states in the year 2015-16 and the same witnessed an increase in the present year. The total number of cases registered with the AHTU in 2016-17 in the region climbed up to 60.

During an interaction, Founder of Impulse NGO Network, Hasina Kharbhih, it was informed that as with time, the trend has also changes. Earlier, girls mostly from the rural areas were trafficked to the urban areas for domestic purposes, but now girls belonging to middle class are being trafficked in the name of employment to big cities like New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore and countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

"In the name of employment, many young and middle aged girls are trafficked to other countries only to find themselves in trouble and in a cycle of trafficking," Kharbhih said adding that the region has seen a mushrooming in skills agencies by 35 percent during the last 5-7 years.

Reiterating that the trafficking scenario has changed over the past few years, Kharbhih said that nowadays girls are being trafficked from small cities to big metropolitans and other countries as well on the promises of a lucrative career while adding that placement agencies are a gateway to a monstrous crime.

While maintaining that skills development centres are important to empower the youth with the much need skills to take on the competitive world, it is also important to ensure that the youth are placed at safe and secure centres.

She also maintained that criminals take advantage of the fact that India is faced with the problem of unemployment. "When the government approves these skills centres, it should also ensure that the placement agencies as referred by these centres are regulated and registered with the government to make sure that our youth are not placed at the wrong places," she said.

She also mentioned that the internet plays a big role in furthering flesh trade in the country and beyond. "Traffickers identifies their vulnerable victims online on the pretext of marriage or promise of a well paid job," she said adding that cyber crime has become so rampant that a serious introspection is required to prevent the youth from falling prey into such criminals.

To tackle this problem, the organisation has tied up with the law enforcement and came up with up with a software called the "Impulse Case Info Centre" (ICIC) with technical assistance provided by DFM InfoAnalytics (an IIT Guwahati Incubation Cell) which is accessible to all the AHTU units in the Northeast including Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal.

ICIC created a case database system that is continuously shared with the AHTUs as well as with other stakeholders, to provide updated information on human trafficking cases and suspected human traffickers.

Conceptualized by Impulse NGO nearly 2 years back, this software aims to combat human trafficking. It is designed on a systematic understanding and assessment of the dimensions of human trafficking and the existing response systems. This Impulse model provides a basic framework for the functioning of the AHTUs within existing response systems. It seeks to create an effective partnership among several stakeholders engaged in providing responses to human trafficking in Northeast.

While Impulse NGO handles the content, the technical aspect is handled by Incubation Centre of IIT Guwahati. "This software was primarily designed to enable the law enforcement units to face the problem head-on," Kharbhih said adding that with the help of technology, police can now get access to the right kind of information to tackle the situation.

It was also informed that besides the alert system and the sharing of information between the AHTUs, this software follows the system of 6Rs — Reporting, Rescue, Rehabilitation, Repatriation, Re-integration and Re-compensation.

"To roll out this section, we have tied up with 165 partner organisations across South East Asia," the Impulse NGO head said adding that the effort should not end in rescuing the victims only but it should ensure that the support system are well in place.

She also mentioned that Impulse NGO as the service provider is planning to start with Part II of the protocol by generating map (hotspots), speed intervention post rescue for the law enforcement on one hand and making public known about the current scenario (number of cases registered), on the other.

She also mentioned with countries like Singapore, Bangladesh and Thailand as preferred destination of trafficking, it is important that the borders are manned properly even as she maintained that with open and free passages along the borders, trafficking also tends to increase.

Highlighting on the challenges faced while implementing this model, Kharbhih said that IT Literacy rate amongst Police Officers (belonging to the age group of 40-60 years old) is relatively low. "It is important to younger law enforcement from AHTU to be involved in implementing Impulse Case Info Centre Software, for better outcome" she added.

She also mentioned that similar ethnicity of people in Mizoram and Myanmar bordering India makes it difficult to address the real influx of cross border human trafficking.

(The writer can be contacted at mawrie.iban@gmail.com)