This story is from July 26, 2016

Aftercare of victims is most challenging, say experts

After spending 20 harrowing years, Rani was rescued last November by Ramanagara police and members of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Karnataka.
Aftercare of victims is most challenging, say experts
Return to life: Aftercare volunteers have to remain in constant touch with those rescued to ensure their life has returned to normal. (Representative photo)
BENGALURU: "We were constantly beaten by the owner and his associates. I lost my first child to a miscarriage and yet there was nothing that could melt his heart. I never thought I'd be able to share my experience someday," said Rani B (name changed), as she recalled her life as a bonded labourer at a brick kiln in Ramanagara.
After spending 20 harrowing years, Rani was rescued last November by Ramanagara police and members of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Karnataka.
Though on record she is 24 years old, Rani is actually clueless about her age. On Monday, this mother of one shared her story of battling bonded labour, breaking down towards the end.
The social work department of Christ University and the International Justice Mission conducted a seminar on leadership and motivation for the varsity's anti-human trafficking mission. The purpose was to make university students understand how best they can help the cause as a community.
"I wanted to go to school but the owner wouldn't allow me. My parents put their debt on my husband's shoulder and disappeared," she said.
Said PM Nair, research coordinator, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS): "In the coming decade, crime by and against human beings will only increase if not controlled in time. India is perhaps the only nation whose laws give NGOs the right to protect the interest of victims while rescuing and rehabilitating them. We only need to put in place the small nuances of observation and awareness to make use of these rights."

However, the real challenge comes after every rescue operation, said experts. Aftercare of victims entails not just reinstating them back in their homes but also making sure they aren't pushed into bonded labour again. Samuel George, director of the department of aftercare, International Justice Mission, said, "In one way, it becomes tougher because in most cases we have to put them in jobs that pay monthly and not every day, thus bringing them out of the daily wage mentality."
Yet even in cases as severe as Rani's or her husband, who spent nine years of his life as a bonded labourer, hope of a better life exists. "Today, Rani's husband works at a food processing unit in Hoskote and earns Rs 11,000 a month. But the aftercare volunteer has to remain in constant touch with them till he/she knows their life has actually returned to normal," said George.
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