Anti-human trafficking & Migration (Terai & Dooars region)
Human Life Development & Research Centre (HLDRC-estd. 2013) presently located in Matigara initiated Anti- Human Trafficking program in 2016 to combat the exploitation and enslavement of people. Later a help desk in Terai region for migration unit was added in the year 2022. The preliminary studies and visits to different tea gardens in the North Bengal tea region revealed that after the closure of many tea gardens (approximately 20) many touts/agents had started visiting the afflicted families, and taking young women, girls etc to big cities like Delhi with promise of jobs (including domestic help). Many unsuspecting families were sending their girls/women without any verification of either the existence of job providing agencies or cross checking the addresses/contact numbers of agents or places where their wards were being taken. After few months when the contact of their women either got disconnected or lost, the panicked parents would go around seeking help that would prove futile. Similarly, tales from tea gardens/villages bordering Nepal started emerging that often men/women from the same village/tea garden or even relatives and family acquaintances were luring girls and women to unknown destinations. No proper study has been done to establish the number of girls, children, women and even men being trafficked or gone missing after being taken for some kind jobs or lured with promise of money.
Reports of hundreds of girls missing from North Bengal tea region especially from closed tea gardens and areas located on the borders of neighbouring countries such as Nepal after being taken to distant places for works/jobs resulted in HLDRC creating awareness about this problem during its social/legal awareness seminars organized in various tea gardens. Fortunately, the UK Mission accepted our project proposal for funding “ Anti-Human Trafficking Project” from January-December, 2016 in the tea gardens of North Bengal region of the state of West Bengal, India.
Interventions of HLDRC in Terai Region:
| No. of awareness program in Tea Garden | 43 |
| No. of labour lines covered | 52 |
| Victim rescued | 28 |
| Availed training on GDA course | 35 |
| Availed training on beautician course | 06 |
| Total | 164 |
HLDRC has successfully provided training to 42 candidates in General Duty Assistance
| Year | No. of Students |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2021 | 14 |
| 2022 | 8 |
| Total | 42 |
In other courses:
| Name of the course | No. of Students |
| Beautician | 16 |
| Tailoring | 28 |
| Hotel Management | 6 |
| Computer Application | 2 |
| Total | 52 |
The primary objective of this program is to assist individual in migrating safely, protect them from becoming victims of human trafficking and empower them to lead a dignified life. HLDRC also has a vision to cultivate leaders who can contribute to their communities.
