World Day against Trafficking in Persons observed by Kokrajhar-based NGO

Our Correspondent

Kokrajhar: To mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons with the theme ‘Government to Action’ on Tuesday, the Nedan Foundation, a Kokrajhar-based NGO dealing with human trafficking cases, celebrated the day at its at its Weaving Destination at Onthai Gwlao near Kokrajhar.

A drawing competition was conducted for adolescent and children group members of the Weaving Destination. Participants were divided into three groups viz- Class-I to Class V, Class-VI to Class VII and Class IX and Class X. The drawing competition was solely related to trafficking, slavery, child labour and child marriage.

A rescued girl of the Weaving Destination narrated her painful story. Nafisa (name changed to protect her identity) was trafficked by a man half her age through the false promise of marriage. Aged 15, she was sold to a brothel for only Rs. 15,000 in Kolkata, hundreds of miles away from her village in Bihar.

“The man promised to give me a happy and comfortable life, something poverty had never allowed us in my parent’s house. Everything seemed fine for the first three months. But after that he began to sexually and physically abuse me. I was put through hell,” Nafisa, now 17, said.

At 14 million people, India has the highest number of enslaved people in the world, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index Report. One out of every third enslaved Indian is a child, like Nafisa. But she was among the lucky few to have escaped a life of modern-day slavery.

Rescued in 2014 when local police raided the brothel she had been sold to, Nafisa was repatriated by a Bihar-based anti-trafficking organization that iPartner India supports and was reunited with her family. “I feel fortunate to be back home and be accepted back by my family,” she said. NEDAN Foundation has also been working for combating human trafficking, protection of children, adolescents and youths development in BTC region.

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