Imlisanen Jamir
Human trafficking, and the ruthless exploitation and slave-like conditions that accompany it, reflects the worst aspects of human nature. For too long there has been a tendency to turn away rather than confront it.
While Nagaland is situated in a region long considered to be a hub of human trafficking, there are very little signs that steps to tackle this problem are working.
The common perception of human trafficking is that it involves sexual exploitation. While this is true in many cases, the effects of human trafficking especially in Nagaland are much more widespread and layered. In addition to the numerous cases of women from Nagaland and its neighbours duped to work in the flesh trade, there are also the cases of children from more remote regions of the state being trafficked into towns to work as domestic help.
But there appears to be a conspiracy of silence when the latter problem is concerned. It is only in workshops and seminars run by welfare agencies and NGOs where this topic is openly discussed.
In Nagaland, the practice of domestic labour (mostly involving children from remote areas of the state) has become an accepted norm. Given how domestic labour and human trafficking is linked in Naga society, tackling one needs addressing the other as well.
It also requires confronting our own shame as a people who have normalized the servitude of the less privileged.
Out of fear, many trafficked persons live their lives in quiet isolation as domestic help. Children suffer the most. While some are sent to school by the host family; they are however expected to come back and do household chores as servants, leaving very little time for a real childhood.
The actors involved in consigning these people to their tragic fates are many—from officers posted in remote districts abetting in illegal transport of poor children to inter-state traffickers and middlemen to even missionaries across borders and within the country.
The domestic labour problem in Nagaland, despite being overtly visible, has drawn little to no action from the authorities—as many of these concerned authorities in positions of power themselves employ such help in their households.
Domestic workers in the state have only recently started voicing out against their unfair and many times cruel treatment. However, even during workshops and seminars where some domestic workers participate, they prefer to remain out of the limelight for fear of backlash from their employers or “owners” (the fact that they refer to their employers as ‘malik’ is tragic).
Organisations like the National Domestic Workers’ Movement (NDWM) and other agencies have been helping domestic workers to speak up. From social benefits and protection from abuse to registration under the Trade Union’s Act and minimum wage entitlement, domestic workers have begun to demand their rights.
But their pleas have gone unheeded so far.
Focusing on protection of labour rights and ensuring decent working conditions is needed to reduce vulnerability to human trafficking. This means bringing those employed precariously in domestic work, agriculture, entertainment, and other informal work under the full protection of labour laws.
Tackling discriminatory treatment; extending social protection schemes so that all workers can benefit; broadening the mandate and resources of labour inspectorates to enforce labour laws; facilitating access to complaint mechanisms through outreach and legal assistance; guaranteeing freedom of association for workers to organise and bargain collectively—all these measures have been proven to work.
We know the tools to combat human trafficking effectively. The question is whether we have the courage to make use of them.
Comments can be sent to imlisanenjamir@gmail.com
