Even after 12 years of the Bodo-Santhal clashes, victims have to live in horrible camps, battle hunger while their girls are trafficked away and forced into the flesh trade
'God sent us as men only for fellow humans to deprive us of basic rights. A piece of bread or a dish of rice is the farthest our imagination can travel. We are those citizens of the largest democratic country of the world who don't posses a pair of dress, don't get a glass of clean drinking water, don't have a proper shelter, not to mention education, sanitation or health care. We are trapped in poverty and there seems to be no wayout' '- thus goes the rant from Maya Tudu, an orphan dwelling in the refugee camp of Kokrajhar.
Maya is a victim of clashes that erupted between Bodos and Santhals during 1996-1998. She often fills her empty stomach with leaves of trees from the nearby forest and quenches her thirst by drinking water from the ponds or the river. Safety, security, peace are words excluded from the vocabulary that describes her life and that of her fellow tribals. This is the fate of thousands of refugees in the districts of Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon of western Assam. Thousands of families from both sides have lost their dear and near ones. Many are quietly suffering from physical and mental handicaps. Those who had taken shelter in the camps as children have now become youths. These youths have nothing to do in the camps. The refugees want to work hard but there is no opportunity. The Bodos, comparatively, have a stronger social and economic status than the Santhals. Hence, many have returned to their villages and have started their lives anew. The refugees left in the camps are mostly Santhals. The government announced some schemes for rehabilitation of the refugees but at the same time declared inhabitants of the camps as encroachers of forest land, thus denying them of the benefits.
Ravi Tudu, an inmate of the Kokrajhar camp, tells TSI, 'Hundreds of armed people raided our village and torched our huts. Many were brutally killed. I somehow managed to escape.'
Since then, almost 70,000 (unofficial figures) unfortunate tribals are believed to be living amid the horrible conditions in refugee camps. Twelve years have passed without any ray of hope.
Lakshmi is a girl of 23. She just has a dirty frock to cover her body. She narrates her experience, 'It was August of 2005. A group of people with a lady came to our camp. They gave us some food and clothes. They tried to lure us by promising work at Kanpur. At first we did not believe them. But after a few days our parents were convinced and 8 girls and 7 boys left with them for Kanpur.' She continues, 'I had dreamt of a good life there. I started working in a house. I was happy. But my happiness was shortlived. The owner of the house started to torture me. He sold me to sex racketeers. For one whole year, I stayed in a red light area. One day I managed to escape. I came to Kanpur railway station. There I met one kind-hearted person. He took me to his home and contacted an acquaintance of his at Kokrajhar. Some days later, the surrendered Cobra Militant Force contacted me and they arranged for my return journey.'
The fourteen other girls and boys are still untraced. There are hundreds of Laksh
mis in the refugee camps who are falling prey to sex racketeers. Some have managed to return, most have come back pregnant. They gave birth to their babies in the middle of the most unhygienic conditions. Nobody has bothered to offer them any help. Some of the girls who returned to the camps are Sumita Bale (20), daughter of Paltan Mardi, Phailaguri camp (presently closed), Maya Mardi (24) of Sapkata camp, Manju Tudu (21) of Kochugaon camp and Sushila Kishku (24) of Kochugaon camp. Among them, Sumita was a student of class IX when she was pushed into the sex trade. Another girl, Rumila Murmu (23), daughter of Pradhan Murmu of Kachibari camp, was also sold in UP. Till date, no one has heard from her. Similarly Sushila Kishku (24) was exploited as a sex worker in Haryana. She somehow managed to escape in a pregnant condition. An unfortunate Nita Hembrom (15) of Damrapara camp was brought to Gujarat and she is still untraceable. Maya Mardi tells TSI, 'They lured us on the pretext of jobs in the textile industry at Kanpur. They took ten girls from the camp. At Kanpur, I was forced into flesh trade. I don't know about the fate of the other girls. I was subjected to sexual torture for many months. But one day, I got lucky and managed to flee.
Zebrius Kha-kha, chairman of the Cobra Militant Force, told TSI, 'We took to arms to protect the rights of tribals. We are observing a ceasefire since September 15, 2001. Our main demands are the proper rehabilitation of the victims of the ethnic clashes between Bodos and Santhals in 1996 and 1998. The state government had declared an aid of Rs 10,000 for each of the affected families. It is too meagre. We demand for its increase to Rs 2 lakh. Of late, we met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and requested him to fulfill our demands.'
Kha-kha says, 'It is true that since the clashes of 1996, about 20,000 tribal boys and girls have gone out of the state in search of employment. Many of them were forced into taking up immoral and anti-social activities. We are trying, to the best of our ability, to rescue those unlucky boys and girls.'
A visit to the camps will prove that governmental aid for the victimised families is inadequate. The district administration distributes ration for only 10 days a month. So the refugees face extreme hardship for the rest of the days. Carol Narzary, deputy commissioner of Kokrajhar, says, 'We have taken some steps for rehabilitation of the refugees. We have given Rs 10,000 to each of the families to rebuild their houses on their own land. Many have already constructed them. But the remaining tribal refugees do not own any land. Most of them are possibly encroachers of forest land.'
'The massive increase in human trafficking is a matter of great concern to us. Poverty is the most crucial factor,' says Bosko Sarmako, president of All Assam Adivasi student Association (AASA). Reiterating that AASA has taken the matter seriously, he goes on to say, 'We have rescued many girls during 2005-2007 from different places of the country. Many of them were rescued at various railway stations of the state during the time of transit to other parts of the country. Yet, a large number of young girls are yet to be rescued.'
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'God sent us as men only for fellow humans to deprive us of basic rights. A piece of bread or a dish of rice is the farthest our imagination can travel. We are those citizens of the largest democratic country of the world who don't posses a pair of dress, don't get a glass of clean drinking water, don't have a proper shelter, not to mention education, sanitation or health care. We are trapped in poverty and there seems to be no wayout' '- thus goes the rant from Maya Tudu, an orphan dwelling in the refugee camp of Kokrajhar.
Maya is a victim of clashes that erupted between Bodos and Santhals during 1996-1998. She often fills her empty stomach with leaves of trees from the nearby forest and quenches her thirst by drinking water from the ponds or the river. Safety, security, peace are words excluded from the vocabulary that describes her life and that of her fellow tribals. This is the fate of thousands of refugees in the districts of Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon of western Assam. Thousands of families from both sides have lost their dear and near ones. Many are quietly suffering from physical and mental handicaps. Those who had taken shelter in the camps as children have now become youths. These youths have nothing to do in the camps. The refugees want to work hard but there is no opportunity. The Bodos, comparatively, have a stronger social and economic status than the Santhals. Hence, many have returned to their villages and have started their lives anew. The refugees left in the camps are mostly Santhals. The government announced some schemes for rehabilitation of the refugees but at the same time declared inhabitants of the camps as encroachers of forest land, thus denying them of the benefits.
Ravi Tudu, an inmate of the Kokrajhar camp, tells TSI, 'Hundreds of armed people raided our village and torched our huts. Many were brutally killed. I somehow managed to escape.'
Since then, almost 70,000 (unofficial figures) unfortunate tribals are believed to be living amid the horrible conditions in refugee camps. Twelve years have passed without any ray of hope.
Lakshmi is a girl of 23. She just has a dirty frock to cover her body. She narrates her experience, 'It was August of 2005. A group of people with a lady came to our camp. They gave us some food and clothes. They tried to lure us by promising work at Kanpur. At first we did not believe them. But after a few days our parents were convinced and 8 girls and 7 boys left with them for Kanpur.' She continues, 'I had dreamt of a good life there. I started working in a house. I was happy. But my happiness was shortlived. The owner of the house started to torture me. He sold me to sex racketeers. For one whole year, I stayed in a red light area. One day I managed to escape. I came to Kanpur railway station. There I met one kind-hearted person. He took me to his home and contacted an acquaintance of his at Kokrajhar. Some days later, the surrendered Cobra Militant Force contacted me and they arranged for my return journey.'
The fourteen other girls and boys are still untraced. There are hundreds of Laksh
mis in the refugee camps who are falling prey to sex racketeers. Some have managed to return, most have come back pregnant. They gave birth to their babies in the middle of the most unhygienic conditions. Nobody has bothered to offer them any help. Some of the girls who returned to the camps are Sumita Bale (20), daughter of Paltan Mardi, Phailaguri camp (presently closed), Maya Mardi (24) of Sapkata camp, Manju Tudu (21) of Kochugaon camp and Sushila Kishku (24) of Kochugaon camp. Among them, Sumita was a student of class IX when she was pushed into the sex trade. Another girl, Rumila Murmu (23), daughter of Pradhan Murmu of Kachibari camp, was also sold in UP. Till date, no one has heard from her. Similarly Sushila Kishku (24) was exploited as a sex worker in Haryana. She somehow managed to escape in a pregnant condition. An unfortunate Nita Hembrom (15) of Damrapara camp was brought to Gujarat and she is still untraceable. Maya Mardi tells TSI, 'They lured us on the pretext of jobs in the textile industry at Kanpur. They took ten girls from the camp. At Kanpur, I was forced into flesh trade. I don't know about the fate of the other girls. I was subjected to sexual torture for many months. But one day, I got lucky and managed to flee.Zebrius Kha-kha, chairman of the Cobra Militant Force, told TSI, 'We took to arms to protect the rights of tribals. We are observing a ceasefire since September 15, 2001. Our main demands are the proper rehabilitation of the victims of the ethnic clashes between Bodos and Santhals in 1996 and 1998. The state government had declared an aid of Rs 10,000 for each of the affected families. It is too meagre. We demand for its increase to Rs 2 lakh. Of late, we met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and requested him to fulfill our demands.'
Kha-kha says, 'It is true that since the clashes of 1996, about 20,000 tribal boys and girls have gone out of the state in search of employment. Many of them were forced into taking up immoral and anti-social activities. We are trying, to the best of our ability, to rescue those unlucky boys and girls.'
A visit to the camps will prove that governmental aid for the victimised families is inadequate. The district administration distributes ration for only 10 days a month. So the refugees face extreme hardship for the rest of the days. Carol Narzary, deputy commissioner of Kokrajhar, says, 'We have taken some steps for rehabilitation of the refugees. We have given Rs 10,000 to each of the families to rebuild their houses on their own land. Many have already constructed them. But the remaining tribal refugees do not own any land. Most of them are possibly encroachers of forest land.'
'The massive increase in human trafficking is a matter of great concern to us. Poverty is the most crucial factor,' says Bosko Sarmako, president of All Assam Adivasi student Association (AASA). Reiterating that AASA has taken the matter seriously, he goes on to say, 'We have rescued many girls during 2005-2007 from different places of the country. Many of them were rescued at various railway stations of the state during the time of transit to other parts of the country. Yet, a large number of young girls are yet to be rescued.'
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.....
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
INDIA'S BEST COLLEGES, INSTITUTES and UNIVERSITIES
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