Human Trafficking In Great Expectations By Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens in his book ‘Great Expectations’ would say “These are the best of times and these are the worst of times” and these words hold true for the world today, more than ever before. While we rejoice our prowess in latest technology, accelerated growth, educating our children and empowering women we are oblivious of a parallel world which is being increasingly afflicted with the worst forms of human rights violation, succumbing everyday to the most horrific injuries, illness and violence under the cloak of human trafficking.

Human trafficking is much more gruesome than the believed-stereotype of illicit smuggling of people, sex trade, illegal migration, captive labor etc and is much more prevalent, complex and close to home than we

Undoubtedly, these kinds of natural disaster, civil unrest, political instability, war and chaos provide a fertile ground to traffickers for commercial and sexual exploitation. Poverty and lack of options are other common threads that run through the stories of most victims. Poverty is correlated to migration, unemployment, illiteracy, labor binding agreements, inability to repay surmounting debt and child labor which in turn is correlated to human trafficking. However, it is not the sole cause. There are many educated adolescent boys and girls from well-to-do families who run into the hands of traffickers as a result of peer pressure, poor self-image, addiction to drug and alcohol, violent conduct at home and lack of apposite opportunities. In most of the cases, they are lured into this harrowing business by falling prey to extravagant promises offered by the traffickers and these victims can’t figure out what is happening with them until it is too

According to International Labor Organization (ILO), 21 million people are currently victims of forced labor. Victims are forced to work in agricultural farms, construction sites, entertainment industries, mines and manufacturing industries for long hours in inhuman conditions; devoid of any pay or facilities. Many are coerced to domestic servitude, perform criminal acts, beg, pick-pocket, rob against their will and some also tricked into believing that they are ill and need an operation so that an organ can be removed and sold. It is high time we put an end to this ‘modern-day slavery’.

Walking the Talk

“As the anti-slavery community, we must together ensure that this attention is transferred into concrete action and results.”

~ Kailash Satyarthi, Indian Nobel Peace Prize winner, 2014

It is always great to talk about the victims, make documentary films about them and have justice movements and social-media campaigns for them. But it is not so great to give them employment, to work alongside with them in the same environment as they and to embrace them as fellow human beings without judging