Migrant Workers Who Lost Jobs Due To Lockdown Are Becoming Easy Prey For Human Traffickers

The migrant labour crisis that was triggered by the coronavirus lockdown in late March is unprecedented in India and it will take a long time before things go back to being normal again. Their journey on foot back home has brought attention to the absence of safety measures and critical assets to find a safe environment during a pandemic outbreak.

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Though India is officially out of the lockdown phase and the country is opening up under Unlock, the rising number of COVID-19 cases means that there are regional lockdowns and economic activity is yet to pick up in many places.

This is bad news for the millions of migrant workers who have been left with no jobs, no income, and an uncertain future. And out of sheer desperation to get work and feed their family, some are falling victims to human traffickers who are exploiting their vulnerable situation.

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A recent survey conducted by Human Liberty Network in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh revealed the plight of these returnee migrants. Workers who migrated back to their homes during the lockdown can be categorized into three broad groups.

Those workers who are skilled, own assets like land, money, and have the necessary documents will be able to derive benefits from the government schemes.

Those who may not be skilled but have enough assets are also protected to some degree during these challenging times.

However, those returnee migrants who neither have the skill nor the assets are most prone to falling into debt bondage and human trafficking for their survival.

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In the absence of necessary documents, they are also unable to access government schemes for employment and health. This segment is also mentally conditioned in a way that prevents them from thinking beyond the option of debt bondage.

Ranu Kumar from East Champaran, Bihar had gone to Ludhiana with a few other villagers and started working as a welder there. With lockdown, his company shut, leaving him unemployed. The owner refused to pay him 40 days of salary and asked him to leave. In the hopes to return home, he requested his pregnant wife to send him some money to buy a bicycle. With a loan of Rs. 2000 he bought a second-hand bicycle and left Ludhiana with 7-8 other migrant workers.

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Four days into the journey in Haryana, Ranu was hit by a car while they were resting leaving his leg broken. He managed to reach home after 15 days of cycling with the help of his companions. Doctors said that he will not recover before September. He does not have any documents other than Aadhar Card and so he has not received any govt benefits. His wife is expected to deliver this month and he has no money. His injury has prevented him from finding a job under MNREGA. Ranu and his family are surviving on loans which they will find difficult to repay.

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This is not just the story of Ranu, many more like him are unwittingly walking into the trap of bondage, due to the lack of other options. Priyanka Devi, a resident of Siwan, Bihar, and her husband used to work as a daily wage labourer. But since the lockdown they have been unable to find work. The family of five is not getting enough ration for her family. The family now survives on loans in kind and cash which they will not be able to repay and are in danger of bonded labour.

According to Bhanuja Sharan Lal, a member of the Human Liberty Network, while many government schemes have been introduced for the daily wagers, they remain out of reach for the returnee migrants largely due to the absence of land, necessary documents and stigma among the native community.

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"The survey also showed a fall in access to institutional deliveries, preventive healthcare, financial benefits and education. These deprivations are factors which lay the breeding ground for social injustices like human trafficking and bonded labour to spread within vulnerable communities. In such a circumstance, falling into the net of human trafficking and debt bondage is highly probable for the underserved ones caused by the increased financial dependency on their employer," he said.

Shutting down of schools has also posed a greater threat to the children of the community to become a victim of child labour. The survey by Human Liberty Network also revealed that the village schools were turned into quarantine centres which raises the concern of first-generation school-goers to drop out and go into labour with their parents.

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Nandu and his sister study at Govt. primary school in Jamalpur block of Mirzapur district. He belongs to the Vanvasi community, which is one of the most vulnerable caste groups in UP. Nandu's parents work at a brick kiln and their meager income is hardly sufficient to provide food for the entire family. Hence, the midday meal is critical to meeting the nutritional requirements for Nandu and his sister. Due to the closure of schools and non-introduction of Direct Benefit Transfer or take-home rations for the students, along with the fact that the brick kiln is now closed and Nandu's parents have not received wages for the past 2 months, they are finding it difficult to provide him and his sister with two square meals a day.

The family has borrowed foodgrains from their neighbours for a few days but for the most part, they have been dependent on extortionate loans from moneylenders.