Human trafficking in India Part II: Interview with Dr. Joseph D'souza

"India may appear to be simply another poor country. But it is a very complex culture with a root issue of caste discrimination behind some of our social ills. While we have numerous strengths, perhaps we have hidden our deepest problems due to shame or, because of colonial history, a fear of outsiders meddling in our culture." Dr. Joseph D'souza

If you have seen the movie "Slumdog Millionaire," you might have seen the glimpse of the truth behind the caste system and human trafficking in India. Though experts identify illiteracy, corruption, and bureaucracy are causes of human trafficking, the Dalits, people who belong to the lowest caste class in India, are the ones who are mainly vulnerable to the traffickers due to their lack of education. Therefore, according to the Dalit Freedom Network website, Dr. D'souza states that one cannot understand human trafficking in India without understanding the caste system in the society. He is one of the founders of the organization The Dalit Freedom Network and an expert in the field of the Dalits' human rights. I applaud his life-long commitment to the cause and his passion to serve the most vulnerable and marginalized people who cannot speak up for themselves in India.

Q: I know you are the head of the organization the Dalit Freedom Network as well as others. Can you tell us more about your organization?

The Dalit Freedom Network started in 2002 as a result of the cry of Dalits, formerly called untouchables, in India who asked myself and others to give them a voice outside the country. During our travels, we met some Americans who were sympathetic to the plight of Dalits and wanted to do more than complain about injustice. After consulting with Indian leaders, we decided to focus on several proactive projects. We accepted an invitation to start primary schools in at least 100 Dalit communities.

The key is that teaching is in English, the language which empowers Dalits to participate in India’s rapidly growing economy. Second is a medical initiative which ensures students – and their community -- are physically healthy. Third is an economic project to help Dalits provide for their families. This includes micro-loans, economic education, vocational training, and Self-Help Groups. Lastly, we continue to present the issue of Dalit slavery to government bodies and human rights groups through our activities in Washington, D.C. and other places. [Emphasis added]

There are many non-profit groups which are part of the Dalit Freedom Movement including Operation Mobilization. Each has different projects and initiatives, for example, OM USA is helping with a subsidized lunch program at the schools and much more.

Q: Many people are unaware of the issues of human trafficking in relations to the caste system. According to your article published on Sojournors, Slumdog Millionaire’s India: My Sobering reality, the 80% of the Indian population’s lives are subject to somewhat similar to what is described in the movie, “Slumdog Millionaire.” Why do you think that people are unaware of such fact?

Trafficking is a huge issue, both in terms of its negative impact on communities but also in terms of the massive size of slavery today. With all the general information coming from the UN, US State Department, and various non-profit organizations, I know it is easy to miss a particular issue like the nexus of caste and slavery. India may appear to be simply another poor country. But it is a very complex culture with a root issue of caste discrimination behind some of our social ills. While we have numerous strengths, perhaps we have hidden our deepest problems due to shame or, because of colonial history, a fear of outsiders meddling in our culture.[Emphasis added]

But I’m encouraged because the awareness has increased dramatically in the last few years. For example, the UN International Labor Office said in the Report of the Director-General in 2005 that “…the overwhelming majority of bonded labor victims in agriculture, brick making, mining and other sectors are from the Scheduled Castes.” Scheduled castes is the official government term for Dalits. The US State Department has started consistently noting that Dalits are largest community victimized by trafficking in India. For example, the 2006 annual report for Trafficking In Persons said “traffickers usually targeted minors and Dalit women” for the sex trade.[Emphasis added]

Q: What has Indian government done to end human trafficking among the population of low caste system? Did you think that effort was effective? Why or why not?

The Indian government should be applauded for many laws they’ve passed to protect lower caste citizens. The laws heighten penalties for people who attack Dalits. There are good programs which provide economic assistance to poor Dalits who tempted by traffickers’ offers of a few hundred dollars for their sons or daughters. The problem is the implement of justice. The government is trying and must do more to educate police on helping Dalit victims, stop intimidation of witnesses, make sure resources get to the Dalits instead of corrupt officials, and that good judges make decisions in line with the rule of law. [Emphasis added]

Q: President Obama just proclaimed the month of January 2010 as a month to raise the awareness for human trafficking victims. Does an Incident like this affect the policies of Indian government at all in terms of rectifying current issues of human trafficking of Dalit people?

On the one hand, India’s government doesn’t like outside pressure and, for example, has publicly resisted efforts United Nations committees which try to enforce accountability in the area of human rights and the caste issue. On the other hand, there are good people in government who appreciate the truth being spoken by friendly countries like the United States. Comments by Obama or others could encourage them or even create enough momentum to change a policy. In the end, we believe that some international involvement will help especially when we look at the example of how apartheid ended in South Africa. [Emphasis added]

Q: How can international community respond or help the situation of human trafficking and the rights of Dalit people in India?

The U. S. Government could take the lead to address the size and scope of the slave trade in India. They can support efforts by non-governmental groups to combat slavery in India, including special training programs to sensitize and equip Indian authorities to prevent and prosecute human trafficking in India. Americans can encourage their politicians to work on these issues. The average citizen can also help by supporting pro-active efforts to stop trafficking such as sponsoring a child’s elementary education through the Dalit Freedom Network or the lunch program for students through OM USA.

For More Information:
The Dalits Freedom Network
Dr. Joseph D'souza blog
Operation Mobilization

Posted on behalf of Youngbee Kim

Trafficking Between Britian and India

From Thaindian News:

The latest sting operation on illegal immigrants in Britain has exposed a well-oiled network in human trafficking from Punjab, but the state authorities do not seem bothered about taking corrective measures at the ground level, say those involved in highlighting the fraud. Despite scores of tragic stories every month of men, women and even children being trafficked, the number of illegal immigrants from Punjab continues to rise.

Congress legislator from Qila Raipur, Jassi Khangura, who gave up his British citizenship in 2006 to come back to Punjab, says the state government lacks the will power to stop illegal immigration. Khangura has been involved with several activities to curb illegal immigration.

“The BBC investigation has shown how sophisticated the network is. The Indian and British governments have to initiate action at their respective ends. Effective measures need to be taken on the Indian side,” Khangura said.

In an undercover investigation in Britain, the BBC has exposed a London-based criminal network that used fake passports, identity documents and human carriers to bring in illegal migrants, mostly from Punjab, into Britain.

These immigrants were settled in around 40 safe houses in Southall, home to a large concentration of immigrants from India. Nearly all of the illegal migrants - called “faujis” in criminal parlance - are said to be from Punjab.

Khangura told IANS here: “Given my experience, this illegal immigration is going to create such a mess that the British and other authorities will become very strict about immigration, and the genuine people will suffer.”

“Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Punjab Police know of the brokers in all corners of the state but don’t want to take action. It is not difficult to identify people who are playing fraud with hundreds of youths by taking millions of rupees with the promise of taking them to western countries,” he added.

The two passport offices at Chandigarh and Jalandhar, which cater to the state, and the latest one at Amritsar which opened this month, are already termed as “passport factories”. The Chandigarh and Jalandhar passport offices churned out 350,000 passports in 2007.

Read the full article

Philippine Law Enforcement Official Says Schools Should Warn Students of Human Trafficking

From the Inquirer:

Manila, Philippines- If this National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) chief agent had his way, the problem of human trafficking and how not to be caught in the traffickers’ snares would be discussed among schoolchildren.

"Law enforcers should go to primary and secondary schools to educate kids, especially young girls, on human trafficking," said Ferdinand Lavin, chief of the National Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division. “The campaign should be focused on grades five to high school because these minors are often the target of syndicates," he added in a recent informal chat with reporters.

Lavin said the campaign should be mounted with the help of Department of Education officials. "We should strengthen the preventive aspect, perhaps by information dissemination," he said. "IACAT (Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking) should also map out where the victims came from and focus on info dissemination in that particular area."

Lavin said he has long pushed for an information dissemination campaign, even taking up his idea with IACAT officials, "we already made this appeal to the IACAT but we were told that there was no funding. That’s the problem."

Read the full article

*IACAT is the conglomeration of government agencies and non-governmental organizations that work together to combat trafficking. As the NBI officer mentions, however, IACAT works under extremely limited resources:

1) They have no full-time staff, everyone involved has a regular job on top of their IACAT duties.
2) They are given no funding by the Philippines government. The limited funds that IACAT does receive are from international sources.

Is it any surprise then that a legitimate strategy to prevent trafficking would not be pursued? Is there any question, from the example of IACAT, that a lack of political will exists in the Philippine government to truly commit resources and manpower to address the issue of modern day slavery?

I'm happy that Chief Lavin was able to present his neglected idea to a public audience, but now resources must be allotted for his efforts and this publicity to make any difference.

Will the real Philippine government please stand up?

2007 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report

Since 2001 the U.S. State Department has released an annual report on trafficking in persons to define, document, and raise awareness of the phenomenon and rate countries across the world on their anti-trafficking efforts. The 2007 report was released this past June.

Trafficking in persons is a modern-day form of slavery, a new type of global slave trade. Perpetrators prey on the most weak among us, primarily women and children, for profit and gain. They lure victims into involuntary servitude and sexual slavery. Today we are again called by conscience to end the debasement of our fellow men and women. As in the 19th century, committed abolitionists around the world have come together in a global movement to confront this repulsive crime. President George W. Bush has committed the United States Government to lead in combating this serious 21st century challenge, and all nations that are resolved to end human trafficking have a strong partner in the United States.

- Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State

At the heart of U.S. efforts to end human trafficking is a commitment to human dignity. Every day, all over the world, people are coerced into bonded labor, bought and sold in prostitution, exploited in domestic servitude, enslaved in agricultural work and in factories, and captured to serve unlawfully as child soldiers. Estimates of the number vary widely. According to U.S. Government estimates, approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year and about 80 percent of them are female. Up to half are minors.

-Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, Senior Advisor on Trafficking in Persons

Summary
In this year’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), the U.S. State Department has added seven nations to its list of most severe offenders which have failed to adequately combat human trafficking and involuntary servitude. Countries which are placed on the worst offender list are subject to immediate consequences from the United States, which may include the “prohibition of grants or sale of security items”. The list now includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Malaysia.

Some critics are saying that this year's TIP Report was too lenient on the world's two most populated countries: India and China. The two countries were placed on the intermediate list, which rather than imposing immediate sanctions, allows several months for the country to make changes to its human trafficking policies.

- The Women's Human Rights Program

The report does not exempt the United States from a cataloging of its own trafficking problem, including women and girls who migrate to America and become prostitutes. An unknown number of U.S. citizens and legal residents are also trafficked within the United States, primarily for sexual servitude and forced labor, the report says.

While the United States is not assigned a tier rating, Lagon said America stands “ready to be judged” on the problem. He stressed that the United States should be seen as an ally against trafficking.

U.S. efforts to raise awareness of trafficking in persons are paying off, and now millions more people know about the global problem, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In introducing the State Department’s seventh annual Trafficking in Persons Report on June 12, Rice said human trafficking until recently was “akin to a global family secret. It was known but not often discussed publicly.”

Rice said that in her travels around the world, she has noticed “a greater desire by our partners to fight this crime and protect its victims.” The United States, she said, is helping to lead a global movement “not just to confront this crime, but to abolish it. More and more countries are coming to see human trafficking for what it is -- a modern-day form of slavery that devastates families and communities around the world.”

- U.S. State Department



More info on the 2007 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report

Download the report

Criticisms of the TIP Report

Experts Warn of 'Creeping Complacency' in Response to Human Trafficking
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, said the report is meant to be a tool to assess what countries are doing to address the issue.

"What jumps off the pages of this report is that there is a growing tendency – a creeping complacency – to park offending countries in the Watch List," he said in a statement, "rather than identify them as egregious offenders in need of immediate and massive reforms."

Read full article


India has a thriving bonded labor industry which exploits both children & adults (Source: Corbis)

Venezuela Denounces U.S. Report on Human Trafficking
The [Trafficking in Persons] report was also criticized by other nations, including the Philippines and Bahrain, and rights groups have accused the State Department reports of being politically motivated. It has been pointed out that, as Reuters reported yesterday, "friendly countries with major trafficking problems such as India were not placed in the worst category, where U.S. antagonists like Syria, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela routinely appear."

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