Sharing my Journey as a anti trafficking activist

I am Pallabi Ghosh, an anti-trafficking activist from India. My journey to fight against trafficking started in September 2012 when I read an article that there is no trafficking, but girls go missing by choice. I was curious and began traveling across west Bengal in India to explore the ground reality. On my journey to different districts, I found that in most houses, at least one child whose whereabouts were unknown to the parents. On interviewing them, I realized that one village bhaiiya means a brother came a few months back and lured the family, stating that a better job awaits them, so they must send their daughter with him to Delhi. The family was impoverished and had to starve for one meal almost every day and had no other choice. They believed him and sent their daughter with him. It had been around two months with no information about their daughter, and they ran from pillar to post, trying to find her. Finally, they went to the local police station who scolded them and further asked them, why did you send your daughter and now you are complaining, she must be somewhere busy so not able to contact you, don't worry she will come back. The father was helpless and started to search for the village bhaiiya frantically but could not trace him and cursed himself. Why did he send his daughter?

I met him and wondered how a poor man had been duped with a false promise. But unfortunately, this was not the end. It was a similar story in almost all the ten villages I visited. All the families had a son, wife, brother, and husband who were not in contact with their families—some for months, some for years. I was confused and didn't know what to do. How could I intervene, what could I do, how could I help? These people are so poor with no one to come to their rescue, and my soul was shaken. I had to do something, and if I could help at least one family, I would be able to be in peace, was my thought. So I went back to meet the first family and collected all the details of the girl, and the village Brother, who was the trafficker started reaching from village to village to find out more information about him. Initially, it was a negative response from everyone I met. Still, finally, I could collect details about the trafficker and made a file that reached the local police station and told the officer in charge with evidence about the number of people he had trafficked. The police didn't listen to me and avoided me, but I was adamant and reached the police station repeatedly for ten days. Finally, seeing my persistence, the officer called me inside and told me to tell me what you have and wanted. I told him, sir, I want nothing, just your support to trace the girl, and I am sure this man knows where she is. If we could catch hold of him, I am sure the girl could be reunited with the family.

The police finally took me seriously and started a search for the man. After 20 days of looking everywhere, we got a clue about the trafficker and captured him. When I questioned him, he said he didn't know as he left the girl with a placement agency in Delhi. So we went to Delhi, found the placement agent, and questioned him, who stated that he had placed the girl for work in a house in Rajasthan. So off we left for Rajasthan and with the help of childline started searching for the girl but was left with no clue on the first day, the second day we started visiting every house in the locality and found one place. On entering inside, I looked at the terrace and found a small child on the terrace peeping at me. On questioning the house owner, she started saying different sentences. So I told her in a low tone.

Madame, can you please call the child? She was like, which child? There is no child here. I was surprised and told her that I had seen a child upstairs. Madame, she understood that there was no point lying to me. I entered the house's basement, found the child, and called her outside. She spoke Bengali, and I told her how she was doing. She started crying and told me, sister. I wanted to go home. Please help me. I hugged her and told her we would take her home. The lady started sharing with me that the child was an adult, and there was an adhaar card stating the same. I told her did she ask the child her age; the lady said no. I told her that it was child labor and that the child was trafficked from west Bengal and forced to work. The lady was surprised and started requesting us not to put her family in Jail. I told the police officer to do what was in the law as I had found the little girl, and my responsibility was to hand her over to her parents.

That is how my journey of rescuing trafficked children started around ten years back. I have been pursuing these passions of mine. Every minute is challenging, and most of the time, I feel devastated. Yet I pull myself up and start working again, thinking of the smiles I can bring to people's lives once they are reunited with their families. One feeling that I cannot express in words. The emotion is magical, and I would love to do it till I can, perhaps all my life.