Nepal to SE Asia : Trafficking via Moreh :: On the transit route
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 04 2019 -
101 trafficked girls rescued at Moreh, Imphal on February 01 2019 :: Pix - TSE
On the transit route. This time on the transit route of human trafficking and this is one downside of sharing a long international border.
Not the first time for remember young girls from Churachandpur being trafficked across the Indo-Myanmar border via Moreh jolted the State some time back.
Not local girls, but this should not be comfort for anyone, for remember this is about human trafficking, this time girls being on their way to any place in South East Asia, via Moreh, the border town of Manipur.
From Nepal to Moreh is certainly a long way and while more than 150 girls have been rescued and some ‘girl runners’ being arrested this more than says that the trafficking racket could not be the handiwork of some rag tag army of individuals who get together to make money out of smuggling human beings, mostly young girls.
A well laid out pattern-with the routes identified, with contact centres or places along the ‘trafficking route’-have to be the common thread that connects the buyers to the sellers.
The few men picked up may be the middle men, the individuals who do the running around, clearing the path for the trafficked girls to proceed on their journey while the big fishes may not be anywhere near the picture.
This is the scary but most likely scenario.
Cannot write off the uncomfortable thoughts that the middle men may have had local contacts here in different parts of the State, particularly in Imphal and Moreh and this is something which the investigation into the case should unravel.
More than 150 girls rescued in a span of 48 hours and this is a frightening figure.
There could have been many more such cases and the present investigation underway should focus on cracking open the nexus.
Most of the girls were rescued from hotels in Imphal and Moreh and surely they must have produced some identification documents before they were allowed to book rooms.
The question is what identification documents did they produce ?
Are they genuine or were they forged papers ?
If it is the latter case, then one can link a nexus between forgery and human trafficking.
Investigation should also try to see and identify who are to be the recipients of the girls trafficked via Moreh.
Which countries were they headed towards ?
How were the girls contacted in Nepal ?
To be sure poverty and the yearning to escape from a life of poverty must be central to it all.
What were the initial promises made to the girls and their elders ?
All these need to be investigated and made known so at least the others more ‘fortunate’ who have not been trafficked can be educated on the travails of leaving home with anyone without minute details of their destination.
Sharks are out there to prey on young hapless girls with high promises to make a quick buck and human trafficking has proved to be one of the easier modes of luring the young girls and blinding their family elders with high promises.
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