BHARATI PAWASKAR
It’s a walk for freedom! Wearing black tops and walking silently with placards in their hands will be around 150 odd people in Panaji who would gather at Kala Academy at 6.30 am to voice their concern about human trafficking happening not only in India but across the globe. “The figures are shocking “ every eight minutes a child goes missing! Where do these innocent children go? What is being done with them? It’s time to take a pause and think seriously. Most of these missing kids are minors, uneducated, vulnerable, coming from poor backgrounds and who have no control over their life’s situations,” states Daniel Philip, who along with his mother Beena Philip, has taken the initiative to organize this ‘Walk for Freedom’ in Panaji on October 19.
The Walk for Freedom is the world’s largest event to raise awareness against human trafficking. The Walk is happening simultaneously in 475 locations across 50 countries. It is a silent walk where participants pledge to help end human trafficking in their lifetimes, and walk in single file in a public place holding placards about the reality of human trafficking that raises awareness among the watching public.
The Movement India and A21 have partnered with 47 colleges, corporates and NGOs across India to organise the silent walk at public spaces, in Panaji and nine other cities in India. The event is of two hours, 6.30-8.30 am and the walk will begin from Kala Academy and return to the same venue via Dayanand Bandodkar Marg. Panaji will be one of the ten cities in India that have joined this movement. The Walk for Freedom comes to India on October 19 for the third year in a row, hosted by The Movement India, a volunteer mobilisation platform based in Mumbai. This is the first year that Panaji is participating in the global event. Over 45,000 people from 1000 cities across the globe will walk for this cause. In India, 6000 people from cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Bengaluru, Shillong and Panaji will be walking silently to raise awareness about human trafficking.
According to the International Labour Organisation (2016) 40.3 million are caught in various forms of modern-day slavery globally. Of these, right now, there are 8 million people trafficked in India for sex, labour, organ transplants, forced marriages and domestic servitude, according to the Global Slavery Index 2018. Pointing out these grave figures, Daniel explains that those who go missing are being forced into many professions.
“In Dubai, most of the labour is from India and when it is compulsory to give a holiday when the temperature goes over 50 degrees, these labour are not given off. Instead they continue working like slaves,” laments Daniel who was inspired by the A21 an international NGO who organizes the walk in its fight against modern-day slavery.
Mumbai based The Movement India organization has been holding the walk for the past six years all over the world with the help of local NGOs whereas the original idea was that of ‘A21’ and the walk has been earning good response, given the need to bring this issue of human trafficking at the forefront.
“While I worked in the US, at California, I came across A21 and witnessed how they run the movement against anti-trafficking. So I wanted to host this event in my hometown Goa and support it. That’s why our NGO, Bethesda Life Centre, is the lead organising partner for the Panaji edition of the walk,” states Daniel whose mother Beena, founder of Bethesda, has been running it since 2002 in Goa.
Speaking about the activities at Bethesda, Daniel explains, “The centre has rescued 300 children and AIDS affected women who were living in Goa for the past 22 years and brought into the sex trafficking trade from outside the state. We provide them groceries and other help and look after their well-being through three day-care homes at St Cruz.”
Those participating in this 45-minute walk can register free online or at the help desk at Kala Academy at 6.30 am and walk holding placards in their hands.
