Tales from the Island of Serendip 4 4

[Flex Mentallo]

A young tribal woman named Kuni Sikaka recently became a cause celebre when she was dragged out of her house at midnight, despite the fact that police had no warrant. She was then paraded in front of officials and local media as a “surrendered Maoist ” despite there being no evidence to support this.

[Flex Mentallo]

“The police SP of Rayagada threatened me and was forcefully asking me to surrender; otherwise he said he would put me in jail for 12 to 15 years. The SP further said 'if you accept being a Maoist, we will leave you'."

[Flex Mentallo]

As another young tribal woman put it, “We’ll fight them with arrows and sticks if we have to. We’re going to lose, but not without a fight. We’re all ready to die.”

[Flex Mentallo]

Like other tribal peoples in India, though supposedly protected in law, they are often forced to migrate from the countryside in search of work. They are often seen begging in city streets and railway stations.

[Flex Mentallo]

As with the northern tribal people of Dooars scraping a subsistence living in the tea gardens, there are NGOs fighting for their rights - 50 of them in the Araku valley alone.

[Flex Mentallo]

For example, Asara, is a maternity programme run entirely by tribal men and women who traverse the valley and reach up into the more isolated tribal communities in the hills with the aim of achieving zero infant mortality.

[Flex Mentallo]

Not far from Araku, Anantagiri is home to the Valmiki tribe. This time of the year, the landscape is awash in green with Deodar trees towering over coffee and pepper plantations.

[Flex Mentallo]

But the scenic beauty conceals an ugly reality that the authorities are still struggling to address: the trafficking of tribal women and girls.

[Flex Mentallo]

The trafficking of young girls from the region goes back all the way to the British era, when there was widespread sex slavery.

[Flex Mentallo]

After the British left, trafficking picked up as the Telugu film industry grew, based in what was then known as Madras. The picturesque landscape and cool climate provided an ideal setting for outdoor shoots, and in the early 1980s filmmakers flocked to the Araku Valley. This ended up bringing the industry in contact with the tribes.

[Flex Mentallo]

With the rise in trafficking, certain locations are proving treacherous for tribal girls.

 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Flex Mentallo

[Flex Mentallo]

Villages that are close to main roads, railway stations and bus stations, and the weekly markets in the agency areas are places where the girls are most vulnerable.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Flex Mentallo

[Flex Mentallo]

It is here that they come in contact with a world that is very different from their village life. There is an obvious wariness towards outsiders.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Flex Mentallo

[Flex Mentallo]

Rajini was 15 years old when she was trafficked and tricked into prostitution.

[Flex Mentallo]

Today she is 27, but rehabilitation for her and many other women and girls who have suffered the same fate is a distant dream. “I am now learning tailoring to support my family. I have also joined the NGO that rescued me. I hope to be a part of their team. I have decided to tour the tribal hamlets to educate young girls, and tell them not to get tricked by strangers who promise them jobs in cities.”

[Flex Mentallo]

Most ironically of all, perhaps, is the exploitation of this issue by the bauxite mining companies, who litter the area with posters. This one says, "Women's safety is our duty. We need to keep them smiling."

[Flex Mentallo]

[comicdonna]

Nice pics and commentary, Flex.  

[Flex Mentallo]

Thanks, Mike!

[Flex Mentallo]

Gross national happiness