Dooars reeling under traffickers’ net

PRADIP LAMA, EOI, KALCHINI, 9 May 2014: The Dooars region appears a beautiful place to a casual visitor to the area, filled with green forest cover and tea gardens. But if one were to interact with the residents there, especially those in the tea gardens, a stark and ugly difference would raise its head to dispel all fanciful thoughts.

The daily wage of just Rs 95 a tea worker earns after putting in hard labour of as much as 14 hours is appalling, if not inhuman, and must be the least a labourer earns anywhere in India. With a week’s earnings of Rs700-800, a tea garden worker must cater to his family’s needs, his children’s studies, besides remaining prepared to contribute to social events, such as a wedding, a pooja or when someone dies.

In spite of such dismal circumstances, the modern day world with its technological advances, fancy gadgetry and easy life has spread its hypnotic gaze to enamour the youths of the region, prompting both girls and boys to leave home in search of greener pastures. The country’s metros, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and other cities, big and small, become their destinations, promising them of a better and happier life. This exodus of the Dooars’ youths is being seen all across the region. Moreover, there has been a growth in the number of individuals living in the region who lure young men and women to urban areas with promises of suitable jobs. It would be unfair to blame all, but the majority of such individuals have turned out to be girl and woman traffickers and dealers in contraband stuff such as drugs.

In terms of human trafficking, especially of young girls and women, the Dooars region must be at par or thereabouts with Nepal. Social activists say girls and women in the Dooars are vulnerable to traffickers not only in local markets and inside public transportation, but are in danger of being ensnared by acquaintances and even their own relatives.

It is believed that over the past decade, human trafficking and drug addiction numbers have risen sharply. There are still scores of young girls and women, trafficked from the Dooars to the cities into prostitution, who are being forced to live in sub-human conditions. Such tales have been narrated in sordid detail by the fortunate few who have managed to escape from such hell-holes. The police and administration appear to have their hands tied when it comes to dealing with traffickers even when it is well-known that there are several local groups comprising both men and women who are actively involved in trafficking.

A father who had lost her daughter to traffickers this February and was lucky enough to get her back just a week ago consoles himself by saying he is not the only person who has had to endure such torture. Targeting his anger and frustration towards NGOs working in the Dooars, the man said the organisations talk about fighting for one’s socio-economic and political rights, but maintain a stony silence when young girls and women disappear right before their eyes. The administration should put an end to human trafficking with such firmness that anyone thinking on those lines would even shudder to think about it, let alone make an attempt, said the distraught man fighting back his tears.

Meantime, administration and police sources admit of the flourishing trafficking trade in the Dooars, but they maintain most parents agree to send their daughters outside to work. As long as the daughters send money home, the parents are content and keep quiet, but once the money stops coming in, they rush to seek the help of the police claiming their daughters have been sold off, added the sources. They also said most parents are not forthcoming when it is a case of their daughters running away from home, caught in ‘lovers’ traps, who eventually sell them off.

Numerous social organisations are active in the Dooars educating the masses of the dangers of falling into traffickers’ hands, but instead of a decline, there has been a steady rise in human trafficking. Observers say this curse upon the region will only stop once the government intervenes and takes effective steps in enhancing the living standards of tea garden workers, by increasing their wages to a respectable level and providing other amenities.