India is a starting place, destination, and transportation country for men, women, and children who are trafficked for money with the intention of forced labo r and

TIP: Trafficked in Persons

West

Benga

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JharkhandTamil

Nadu OrissaDelhi

GoaChhati

sgarh Bihar

Andhr

aPradesh

The countries shown, the TIP is in large quantities and human trafficking is on the rise.

The most common that forces men, women, and children into the trafficking business is debt. They are sold to work in brick kilns, rice mills, and embroidery factories. Some men and women are trafficked for illegal organ harvesting, thinking they will inherit money from their “donation.” Instead, they are left with nothing and usually die soon after.

"That's the main

thing. There are a

lot of people who

are easy to take

advantage of.“

-spokeswoman from NHRC

Researchers estimate that trafficking is currently affecting 20 to 65 million Indians. Internationally, the human trafficking business generates around $12 billion annually. This makes the trafficking of women the third most profitable crime in the world.

Children are often trafficked for forced labor and girls often for prostitution. Jobs for children include shoe shiners, domestic servants, and farmers. In cruel circumstances, children have even been used as armed combatants by terrorist groups.

“Because they are naïve,

uncomplaining, easily

controlled, vulnerable, desperate,

and dispensable.”

Nepali children are often trafficked to India to perform in circus shows. Currently there are over 500 “circus slaves” in India. Black-market sellers convince parents that their children will be “famous performers.” These children are beaten, raped, attacked by circus animals, and are forced to complete life-threatening stunts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR1jptNpJdMA first hand account of a circus slave, Sunita, who was eventually saved after years of abuse.

More than 1.2 million children are trafficked in India for the purpose of commercial sex. Black-market sellers resort to kidnapping and abduction to acquire girls and boys for the business. The National Commission of Women reported that over 62% of women who are or have been trafficked for sex were from disadvantaged castes.

Article 23:Guarantees right against exploitation; prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labor and makes their practice punishable under law.Article 24: Prohibits employment of children below 14 years of age in factories, mines or other hazardous employment.

So why does human trafficking still occur? Owing slaves has never been cheaper than it is today. Poverty leaves women, children, and men vulnerable to customers who are willing to pay big for labor or commercial sex.

A woman of twenty, Padmavathi, plagued by abuse from her husband over dowry harrassment, decided to come with her son to Hyderabad, one of India’s biggest cities.

“My family could not afford to pay my bridal price. I sold my only possessions of value – anklets and a necklace – for money to travel to Hyderabad in search of work.” She was soon approached by a man who offered to buy her dinner and provide a place for her and her son to stay. “ He seemed nice and I was beyond desperate, so I accepted.”

For three days, the man who had offered dinner to her was kind to her. But starting on the fourth day, Padmavathi’s life changed forever. He told her that he had secured her a job cooking, but instead she arrived and became part of something horrific.

“Two men were waiting for me when I arrived at the place and they set about trying to rape me. I fought and kicked and screamed. When I broke down in tears, the one fellow left, but the other man said he had paid for me and refused to leave unsatisfied. He beat and raped me. That was how my nightmare began.”

Padmavathi’s “pimp” used her baby son to influence her and forced her to go out every night to provide sex for his employees. Padmavathi had now become a victim of human trafficking and found no solace or hope of escaping. For the next two and a half years, this would be Padmavathi’s existence. It was soon reported to her that her son was dead. Apparently, during a drunken binge her pimp and his friends had killed the child from alcohol poisoning. He was buried in a shallow unmarked grave. Padmavathi now had no reason to comply to her pimp or even to live.

One night, Padmavathi responded to her master’s order by saying, “No. All these times I went with many men, I did it out of love for my son. Now he is gone and I have no reason

to go anymore. I am done.”Padmavathi was then sold to a brothel in Goa, one of the top nine TIP states in India. When plans of her escape

were revealed to the brothel owner, Padmavathi was beaten mercilessly.

Scrounging her earnings and dawning inconspicuous clothes, she purchased a bus ticket to Hubli.“Without enough money to get all the way back to Hyderabad, I begged an auto-rickshaw driver to give

me a lift to the local train station, but instead of taking me to the station the fellow picked up a friend and took me into the jungle. For two days they used me in the forest, but when they were done, they bought me a ticket back to Hyderabad.”

After three long years away, Padmavathi was finally able to be reunited with her oldest son. She decided to return to Hyderabad to continue to work as a prostitute to provide for her son’s future. This time, without a pimp.

“I enrolled my son in a good school, rented us a new room and decided to go myself for this work to help my son.

“But, one day, on my way home after working at the bus stop, I was stopped by the Prajwala people. They took me to the police station and counseled me that I could quit this horrible work; I had another option.”

Prajwala is an anti-trafficking organization by Catholic Relief Services. Their goal is to reach out to women who have been victims of human trafficking. Padmavathi was offered a job to work in their print and book binding shop.

“I was so desperate for a real job that I forced myself to overcome my fears,” she says. “There and then I made a decision that I wanted to learn all the trades on offer and how to work the technical things.”

Earning only $33 a month, she wasn’t earning much. Padmavathi has been with Prajwala for more than five years now. She has mastered numerous trades and has saved and bought some land in her old villiage.

Padmavathi has successfully turned her life around and built a bright future for herself and her son. “After two years at Prajwala, my fear receded and my confidence returned,” she says, with a twinkle of optimism in her eye.

The non-profit organization, Red Light Rescue, is an organization aimed at ending human trafficking and modern day slavery around the world. Started in 2006, Red Light Rescue devotes all their effort to rescuing victims of human trafficking. While helping them escape a life of servitude, they also help rebuild victim’s lives as to not leave them unstable. By providing financial support, Red Light Rescue can rescue many more slaves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGewT_u4qR4

http://www.coderedlightrescue.com/

Founded in 2004, The Project to End Human Trafficking, is another non-profit organization aiming to end human trafficking. Beginning, their only goal was to host educational lectures about what is going on. Currently, PEHT participates in educational outreach efforts, direct service to victims, and collaboration with other organizations. To get involved we can become PEHT volunteers in which one would help raise awareness about trafficking. Also, we can all make sure our rugs are child-labor free by looking for the RugMark label.

http://www.endhumantrafficking.org/

While it is true that slavery is illegal almost everywhere on

earth, the fact is there are more slaves today than there ever

were...

By: Katy Thompson

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