Deadly floods: Another human tragedy unfolds

Women, children face risk of being sold into slavery

New Delhi : Women and children in India's flood-hit eastern region are at risk of being preyed upon by human traffickers and sold into slavery in middle class homes, restaurants and shops, and even brothels, aid workers have warned. Heavy monsoon rains have caused rivers including the Ganges and its tributaries to burst their banks, forcing more than 200,000 people into relief camps in the states of Bihar, UP, MP, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.

The deluge has killed at least 300 people, submerged thousands of mud-and-brick villages and destroyed large swathes of farmland affecting millions of people across the five states. Charities working in the worst affected regions of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh said trafficking was widespread in the aftermath of previous disasters in the region, such as last year's earthquake in neighbouring Nepal and floods in Bihar in 2008. "Children are always the most vulnerable during emergencies - especially during floods, when families are forced to move to higher ground, leaving their homes for an extended period of time," said Thomas Chandy, CEO of Save the Children India.

"While a child's parents may not always remain in their close proximity, and with the presence of strangers, the threat of sexual abuse and child trafficking is high. There are organised groups of offenders who are quick to seize opportunities to exploit the plight of children." South Asia is the fastest-growing and second-largest region for human trafficking in the world, after East Asia, according to the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime.

India alone is home 40 per cent of the world's estimated 45.8 million slaves, according to a 2016 global slavery index published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation. Thousands of children, mostly from poor rural areas, are taken to cities every year by gangs who sell them into bonded labour or hire them out to unscrupulous employers. Many end up as domestic workers or labourers in brick kilns, roadside restaurants or small textile and embroidery workshops. Many women and girls are sold into brothels.

Experts say post-disaster human trafficking has become common in South Asia as an increase in extreme events caused by global warming leave the already poor even more vulnerable. The breakdown of social institutions in devastated areas creates difficulties in securing food and humanitarian supplies, leaving women and children at risk of kidnapping, sexual exploitation and trafficking. Officials in Bihar said they were aware of the risk of exploitation and were working with charities such as Save The Children, ActionAid and the UN children's agency UNICEF to curb instances of trafficking.

By Nita Bhalla