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28 February 2007: Hariharpara and Murshidabad blocks are the most child trafficking prone regions of the area, serving as source, route and market for the traffickers. It has a substantial muslim population due to its proximity to the Bangladesh border as well as migration of adults and trafficking. About 1,000 children are trafficked from Murshidabad to metros – Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and to Arab countries every year, mainly for domestic work for girls, child marriages and to work in construction or hotels/dhabas for boys. Children are also trafficked to work as child beggars in Mecca and other Arab countries, and this is a major problem. Of the 58% child marriages that happen in West Bengal, majority are in Mursidabad.
Young girls and women are also trafficked from across the Bangladesh border for work, for marriage and are sold off once they cross over the border into Murshidabad.
The Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) S B Sirkar makes an entry after making the girls, boys and other people waiting for a long… but I guess as the SDO he has that kind of leeway among people… also present was Khadija Banu, a noted social worker of the region.
The NGO’s present at the meeting were BAPU and Murshidabad Adivasi Gramin Jankalyan Samiti, who participated with their beneficiary children in the march.
After the meeting addressed by Kailash Satyarthi, SDO Sirkar, Anindit Roy-Chowdhary, Khadija Banu, Pratik Roy, and the girls, the marchers moved through the city of Behrampore covering the entire length of its busy marketplace chanting slogans. Along the way, flyers in Bengali were distributed to the people, from rickshaw-pullers, bystanders, shopkeepers, school-children to the officials and policemen manning the streets.
At Girija crossing, Kailash Satyarthi, Anindit Roy-Chowdhary (Sanlaap), Mainuddin Ahmed (BSAF, Bangladesh), Rakesh (former child labourer) addressed 1,000 strong street gathering. A large number of policemen had also assembled at the gathering due to the proximity of the police station. These policemen were individually sensitised by the BBA activists and given the IEC materials in many languages.
Umarpur, Murshidabad district, mid-way between Behrampore and Malda, there was a street gathering by the marchers. Lalgola and Bhagwangola, two towns north-east of Umarpur are just a couple of kilometres from the Bangladesh border and route of trafficking into India from Bangladesh. These fall in Jangipur constituency, the constituency of Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs. While child marriage is endemic to the entire border regions of West Bengal, boys are trafficked from these regions to work as gold-smiths in Mumbai, in hotels/ dhabas (hazardous processes under the recent notification with in the Child Labour Law in India) and other unorganised sectors. It is also a transit route from Bangladesh for trafficking to the Middle East – girls for domestic service and boys for forced beggary.
Interview with Nitranjan Das, Manager, Sonar Bangla Restaurant, Umarpur
BBA: What do you think about this march?
ND: It is good that this ‘andolan’ (movement) is going through this area. The general public will support your efforts in this area, as the problem of trafficking is very grave in Lalgola, Bhagwangola and other nearby areas. There is a BSF camp there at Ramnagar but the magnitude of child trafficking is still very high.
BBA: What occupations are children trafficked from here into?
ND: All kinds…. The middlemen promise money and education to the poor illiterate families. The families being poor get enticed and send there children and loose them forever. Girls are sent from Umarpur and border villages from India to Bangladesh. From there they are somehow taken to Pakistan and ultimately end up in mecca or Saudi Arabi or any of the Arab countries. The situation is really bad as the police are also hand in glove with the traffickers often times. |
