Mental health of trafficked survivors matters!

Varalika Mishra

Pallabi Ghosh says, “Mental health is critical as girls and women are constantly stigmatized, their family don’t even understand the trauma they went through, and there are severe consequences.” Born and raised in Lumding, Assam, Ghosh has rescued over more than 7,000 girls and boys from trafficking. According to her, trafficking greatly impacts the individual’s mental health. She has rescued hundreds of women and children from child marriage, forced marriage, child labour and prostitution. “Trafficking is a heinous crime. Most people get lured into it for a job, marriage, or love. They are innocent people who do not realise the consequences of what they are getting into. They come from vulnerable areas of remote India. My work focuses on post-rescue rehabilitation, where we counsel trafficking survivors and monitor them constantly for behavioural issues. Every 15 days, I analyze their physical, social, and psychological status and gradually reduce the frequency once we see healing. Just rescue doesn’t ensure recovery,” she adds.

According to reports, most girls die by suicide due to the discrimination they face after being rescued. According to Pallabi, the real work starts post-rescue as that is when a supportive environment needs to be provided to the survivors for holistic development, and it is not an easy job to implement. Pallabi is the founder of Impact and Dialogue Foundation which helps in implementing various workshops for the survivors and in sensitizing the system about trafficking.

Impact and Dialogue Foundation provides destigmatization workshops for the members of the system, like families, social welfare officers, police, and other stakeholders, ensuring that they look at the survivor with dignity. It is crucial to realize that survivors are not responsible for getting trafficked in society. “I need much assistance in making people understand that trafficked survivors must heal and reliving the stories repeatedly through different types of questioning by the media and courts further aggravates their pain,” says Ghosh.
Impact and Dialogue Foundation creating a difference

“Our work is creating a difference. We have girls coming up sharing their stories, being a part of the policy and decision-making process, are a part of our stitching centres, along with kitchen gardens and self-help groups. They earn some money which gives them empowerment. We conduct vocational training and arrange for the survivors to learn computer skills and English-speaking courses to build their confidence further. We drive various workshops to help them get skilled and represent themselves in society,” adds Pallabi. With Impact & Dialogue Foundation, she aims to create awareness about trafficking of all forms. Contact +91-9811737441, Email- impactdialoguefoundation@gmail.com for any assistance.

Construction of Tura Medical College in progress

Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh has informed that the work for the construction of the Tura medical college is progressing.

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“We have about 45 per cent of physical progress. There are some problems (and) we are engaging with other nearby hospitals to ensure that we reach the mark of 450 beds as recommended by the MCI,” Lyngdoh told reporters.

She said that there were also certain problems with the availability of funds but that also has been sorted out.

The minister also announced that she will be visiting the construction site very shortly and said, “I am waiting for the model code of conduct to be completed quickly so I can begin to go on the ground to understand better but the Tura Medical College is progressing.

On the proposal to set up the Shillong medical college, Lyngdoh said that the government is yet to formulate a finalized approach and the matter has still to be taken to the cabinet adding that “but internal engagements are on”.

“We still require proper cabinet note to be sent proper projections to be made but yes Shillong medical college will probably change from the old proposal,” she said while adding that “We may have a PPP proposal as proposed earlier but not necessarily in Shillong but somewhere in this part of the state but all of this is being prepared now and it would be incorrect for me to divulge too much on that but one message which can go very clearly is that we are a concern and we are on the job and we will come up with a  proposal and a plan at the earliest.”

When asked, Lyngdoh said, “We want these institutions to be materialized within the timeline that was specified. I know that yes we were told to institute one and it has been done in the Garo region yes we have to institute something in the Khasi region or the Ri Bhoi region as well that is we are on the job and on the pipeline but we cannot spell it out with full authority as we are still at a discussion level and we still looking at what is the best way forward.”

AIM against gambling in melas

The Awakening Indian Movement (AIM) has sought the intervention of the deputy commissioner of East Khasi Hills district to ensure a blanket ban on gambling at melas being organized by different agencies.

Speaking to media persons, chairman of AIM Bansharai Marbaniang said that many people from other part of the country come to Meghalaya to host various kinds of melas, however these melas have games that encourage gambling with money which is detrimental and have a negative impact on the welfare of the people.

Marbaniang alleged that melas throughout the country are being held in order to provide entertainment to all citizens where they can experience happiness especially for children, students, and youth but at present melas in Meghalaya are being held with gambling which have detrimental and a negative impact on the welfare of the people.

“During our visit to the mela held at the Parking Lot outside Polo Ground in Shillong, the mela hosted various gambling activities with money and young people and students in uniform participated in various gambling games” said Marbaniang.

Marbaniang said that AIM is not against organizing melas in the state, however it stands against the act of gambling that is being held at the venues hence the AIM sought the intervention into this matter.

HPC calls govt blueprint ‘unacceptable’

In a hard-hitting reply, sent today to the Government of Meghalaya’s blueprint for relocation of residents of Punjabi Lane, Shillong, the Harijan Panchayat Committee after multiple rounds of consultation with its members, has stated that the proposal of the government was “incomplete, unsuitable, unprepared, unfair and undemocratic.”

In an exhaustive 6-page reply sent to the Deputy Secretary of the Government of Meghalaya and to other concerned departments, the HPC letter reads, “There are serious lacunae, sweeping and undesirable conclusions in the approach and attitude of the High-Level Committee of the Meghalaya government.”

“We are absolutely devastated that since the formation of the new government, ministers, MLAs and certain groups have been making unnecessary remarks saying that the whole issue would be resolved within the month of April. What magical trick do they have up their sleeve to resolve the issue within days?  The matter is sub-judice and they are only paying lip service to respect for the judiciary. We will not buckle under political duress.”

“We have attended meetings of the government in good faith but the government is resorting to misinformation and disinformation through the media and at the meetings, the only attitude is to overawe us into submission to their proposal. The language of the political leadership is one of intimidation. They are putting our lives and properties at risk and making us vulnerable,” said HPC secretary Gurjit Singh.

The HPC has strongly alleged that the “entire exercise is an ill-founded relocation theory, which actually compels the resident citizens of the Punjabi Lane (Harijan Colony) to forego their rights, title and interest over whatever small land portion in the colony and to accept the prisons cells like accommodation being offered in the proposed Blueprint.”

Speaking to the media, HPC secretary Gurjit Singh reiterated that, “our original demands presented in the “Eight-point resolution” still stand and we will not buckle under political duress merely because it is convenient for the government to do so and simply because due to passage of time, the land has become a commercial goldmine.”

The Harijan Panchayat Committee which, despite all odds, has been spearheading a battle for rights of the residents since the last three decades, has in its detailed reply to the government said that the disputed land belongs to the Syiem of Mylliem, and not to the government and any attempt by the government to buy it is violative of the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act.

With reference to the recent incident of 31 May 2018, the HPC has stated that “taking advantage of a stray case of discord, suddenly the “relocation theory” was resurfaced for political and vested interests. We have all the official documentation necessary to live as citizens at our ancestral land in Punjabi Lane.

The letter pointed out gaping holes in the government’s blueprint -area too small and proposed houses pigeonholes, official building guidelines violated, no roadmap of demolition of present structures, no public amenities and last but not the least no specification of title to the land and the houses.

“There are so many grey areas and gaps. The government must clarify about all such concerns and only then it can be taken up for consideration by the Harijan Panchayat Committee, without prejudice to our right to reject the proposal” stated Gurjit Singh while speaking to media personnel.

Deriding the government’s haste, the HPC remarked, “It has been held by the Supreme Court of India and other courts as well that the right to lead a dignified life is an inalienable right and provisions of housing cannot be such that it is inhabitable for residents to live there. In the light of such judicial pronouncements, the residents are entitled to a better resolution.”

In an earnest appeal to the government and people of Meghalaya, Gurjit Singh said, “the government must stop the witch hunt and allow us to build our houses and we can assure that the beauty of the area will be fully maintained and for this the residents have the full support of the Sikh community.”

“The residents of Punjabi Lane want to live with honour and dignity at the land of their forefathers and it would be improper to treat them as aliens. The solution to this should be peaceful, amicable, mutual and permanent, without trampling on our fundamental rights,” he added.

HPC yet to reply to Govt’s relocation proposal

The Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) is yet to submit its reply on the government’s proposal for relocating the 342 families of Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong despite the deadline served by the government has expired today.

“Officially we have not received (the reply of the HPC) yet,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters.

He however informed that the government may invite the HPC for discussion within this week.

“I have seen in the newspaper that they are going to meet us. Maybe this week itself, we will call and again discuss with them because we have already sent to them the blueprint so it is only a matter of decision to be taken by them as from the government side we have already presented to them all the details,” Tynsong said.

On March 16, the state government set a deadline for the HPC for submitting its reply by April 10, with regards to the proposal for relocating the Sweepers’ Colony from Them Iew Mawlong to the existing land of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB).

The government had also turned down the request of the HPC to give another three months’ time to respond to the proposal.

The decision was also taken following an order of the Meghalaya High Court on February 16, asking the state government to immediately resolve the issue after the Assembly elections.

On September 29, last year the state government had presented the blueprint to the HPC during a meeting, which indicated its decision to construct multi-storey flats at the existing official quarters of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) for relocation of the 342 families.

The state government had completely rejected the April 25,2022-proposal of the HPC that 200 square meters of land be provided to each of the 342 families within the European ward besides bearing the cost of construction of their homes.