“The numbers of those who are victims of slavery are high, but the reality is even worse”

Alot of times we don’t even realise that people are working as bonded labourers. If a child is working at a tea shop in India, have you thought about the fact that he might be there against his will? We don’t check on the child, we just ask him to bring tea. It is not part of our system to think from that perspective, which is part of the problem.

There is a need to sensitise people, not only the affected children and their parents, but the general community as well who regularly interact with these people. Bonded, slave labour is harming society. The girl, for example, who is being forced to marry at a young age is not able to do anything good for herself or for her society. But all people look at is their own situation. A contractor would prefer to pay Rs100 to a child rather than pay Rs400 to an adult worker. So, what he is looking at is saving the Rs300, but the human capital that should have been educated and provided psychosocial support could have been used ethically and more creatively.

There are various factors that come into play when you look at modern day slavery. Firstly, there are situations where the families don’t have a choice. They are not able to get two square meals a day and have no choice but to have their children working. Secondly, it is institutionalised in the form of groups of people, call them the mafia or nexus of people, who create these kinds of situations. For example, the sex trade which people are pushed into and are unable to come out of.

Enforcement of law is another issue. Also, compulsory education should be provided along with monetary benefit. For example, in India, the state government of Tamil Nadu provides this for educating the girl child. When the girl becomes eligible to start school, they open an account under her name in a bank and provide tuition fees, books and some amount of money. During her transition from primary school to middle school, and then on to high school, a certain amount of money is deposited at each level. So, parents are unwilling to pull the child out of school because they will lose out on the income. Another issue with slavery is not having the correct data. Whatever figure we do have is only the tip of the iceberg because the entire sector is so unorganised and many things are hidden behind the curtain. If you have the right data, you can analyse it correctly. So, a scientific approach is missing when you don’t have the right numbers.

I do not believe that this issue can be resolved in the next 20 or 30 years, but at least if we have the right information and the necessary synergy, we can set realistic targets for 10, 20 and 30 years.

From Mr Sadique Ahmad Communication officer with an NGO based in Tamil Nadu, India