More than 50 citizens from the community participated in the Walk for Freedom to raise awareness about human trafficking in Ri-Bhoi on Saturday morning.
The walk was declared open by Barsil Jyrwa, the Junior Rural Development Officer of Bhoirymbong block.
At the start of the walk, participants joined those across the nation and abroad in taking a pledge to do everything possible within their means to help end trafficking in their lifetimes. They then walked single file holding placards with information and statistics about human trafficking, starting from and returning to Syllei-U-Lar via public roads in the vicinity. The walk was completely silent, in solidarity with voiceless victims of human trafficking.
This was Meghalaya’s third year participating in the Walk for Freedom, with the Ri-Bhoi event led by the NGO Faith Foundation. It was one of three such walks in Meghalaya this year and made possible by the coming together of colleges, corporates and civil society community members, such as Martin Luther Christian University and Sankardev College.
49.6 million people are caught in various forms of modern-day slavery globally, including exploitation for sex, labour, organs, baby selling, forced marriages and domestic servitude, according to figures from the International Labour Organisation. This means that 1 in every 150 people globally are enslaved.
In India, 8 children were trafficked every day in 2021 according to the National Crime Records Bureau. In Meghalaya, as many as 603 incidents of crimes against women and 416 cases of crimes against minors were recorded in 2022. These include instances of human trafficking, rape, assaults, kidnappings and murders of women and children.
The Walk for Freedom is hosted globally by A21, an international NGO in the fight against modern-day slavery. The national organiser for the India walks is The Movement India, a social-impact team based in Mumbai that focuses on large-scale public advocacy to prevent human trafficking. Over 13,000 people have participated in the Walk for Freedom editions across 36 Indian cities since 2017.
