Bhubaneswar, March 2: A caravan addressing the issues of human trafficking will travel across all the 30 districts of the state from March 18. The campaign is aimed at awakening people on the dangers of trafficking, while motivating them to protect themselves and showing them ways to say "no" to traffickers.
The US Consulate General of Hyderabad and Prajwala, an anti-trafficking organisation led by activist Sunitha Krishnan, have launched the campaign in collaboration with the state government. Around eight people will travel in the caravan that will consist of four trafficking survivors and four experts working in the field.
The two-month-long campaign will start from Gajapati district and will conclude in Bhubaneswar on May 18. A series of programs will be conducted during the tour both for men and women. A 30-minute documentary film in Odia will also be screened on human trafficking, which will be followed by an interactive session with the trafficking survivors.
"The main aim is to alert communities on how the network of human smugglers operate, and the modus operandi they have adopted to trap boys and girls to lure them in the name of employment, marriage, love, film roles or for an overall better life," said Krishnan, who was in the city today for the poster launch ceremony of the campaign.
During the journey, the team will establish a network of community vigilant groups and train them to spot and report trafficking cases in their areas. The Odisha State Commission for Women and the Odisha State Legal Service Authority along with the state home department will document the entire journey and ensure that it sustains in the state.
"We have informed the collectors of all the districts to take notes when the caravan reaches their respective district. They will then work with the vigilant groups to counter the attempts of trafficking," said deputy secretary of the state women and child development department Subhra Mohanty.
In the first phase, the campaign has been launched in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. "We have set a target of covering the entire country in two years," added Krishnan. The caravan began its journey from Hyderabad on January 1.
Krishnan said that her organisation had rescued more than 600 trafficked boys and girls from the southern areas of the country. "There are many other such cases. We have conducted research in Odisha and have found out that there is a high demand for pornography and prostitution here. It is very difficult to judge the exact number. But, we are sure that the number would be quite high," added Krishnan, who has been selected for the Padma Shri this year.
"The government, voluntary organisations or the police can never handle the problem of trafficking single-handedly. All of us will have to collaborate to end this organised crime which exploits human vulnerabilities," said Michael Mullins, consul general, US Consul General of Hyderabad.
The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and Catholic Relief Services are also partnering in the anti-trafficking initiative.
