Ending Human Trafficking India Project #57514

RESCUING 5 GIRLS FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING

by Fundacion Sonrisas de Bombay

Project Report | Feb 12, 2025
Two young boys rescued from labor exploitation

By Jorge de Ory Murga | COO

A member of our team escorts a rescued boy

Human trafficking does not only affect girls or women. Young boys from vulnerable communities also can become victims of traffickers, who force them into slavery and labor exploitation.

Last Wednesday, January 29, our team rescued two young brothers at Mumbai Central Railway Station. Both were being exploited in a welding workshop, without any payment and in very dangerous conditions, having to carry heavy metal rods.

The boys, aged 14 and 17, had been working in this workshop since August, and suffered constant physical aggressions abuses from the owner. The monthly salary of 7,000 rupees that they were promised (barely 80 US Dollars) was only paid the first two months. After that, they did not receive any money at all, despite their had work.

When our team met them, they were trying to escape by train and return to their village, but they had hardly any money, and were alone, nervous and very scared. Being so young and stressed, and in such a crowded place where nobody pays attention to any other, they were extremely vulnerable to be recaptured, punished and returned to slavery and exploitation.

Fortunately, our Rescue team was able to act on time, and the boys are now in a safe place. We have also contacted their families and begun the arrangements for them to be escorted back to their village.

This rescue is the first we have carried out since we became part of the aid and detection team for cases of human trafficking at Mumbai Central Station. Once again, these boys come from a rural environment in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Their parents, farmers without resources, trusted a third person who promised them to get their children a good job in the city. Once in Mumbai, however, they saw their dreams turn into a nightmare.

Thanks to your support, we can keep rescuing girls, as well as boys, from exploitation and slavery. Thank you!!

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Oct 16, 2024
9 girls freed from sexual exploitation

By Jorge de Ory Murga | COO

SW supports one of the rescued victims.

On September 27, the Sonrisas de Bombay rescue team was able to free 9 girls victims of human trafficking and exploitation, who were being forced into prostitution.

The preparatron of this operation had begun a month before, when the team had been informed about a brothel on Grant Road (Mumbai) where upto nine girls allegedly were being forced into exploitation. As per the received information, five from these girls were from West Bengal, two from Bangladesh, and two others from Mumbai itself. All of them had been deceived and had traveled to the city under fake promises of jobs like domestic work, as actresses or in big companies. The girls, aged between 24 and 35, had immediately been taken to the brothel and forced into prostitution for 5 months.

During previous weeks, members of our team visited the brothel on several occasions to gather information and gain the traffickers'confidence. Finally, it was agreed with the police that the operation would take place on Friday, September 27.

In total, 18 people were involved in the rescue: 12 police officers, 4 members of Sonrisas de Bombay and 2 ciollaborators who acted as decoy clients. The operation began at 4pm and ended at 6am; nine girls were freed and three traffickers were arrested during the raid.

The freed girls were immediately treated by medical personnel and by our social workers, who offered them legal and psychological support. They have all been transferred to a shelter, whereas the three arrested are currently in prison and will have to face a trial.

According to our sources, the girls were not related to each other and had been recruited by acquaintances who had tricked them into going to work in Mumbai. The two victims from Bangladesh will be able to return to their home country, and the authorities are working to support the other girls in their rehabilitation process.

This has been one of the largest operations carried out by our rescue team and, with this, 78 people have already been rescued from human trafficking mafias.

Thanks to the support of people who, like you do, collaborate with us, we can continue carrying out rescue operations like this one and thus achieve a better future for many girls.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Links:

Macro rescue operation: 9 girls freed from sexual exploitation

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Jun 19, 2024
New survivors rescued from a nightmare

By Jorge de Ory Murga | Head of International Alliances Department

Rescued victims receive support and counselling

Did you know that, every year, more than 500,000 people around the world are victims of trafficking networks? That is, one every minute.

The eradication of human trafficking is the main objective of our projects in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and also in Spain. We invest the biggest efforts in preventivon, intervention and rehabilitation. But many women and girls still continue falling in the networks of human traffickers and are sexually exploited.

Thanks to our teams working in the field, always in collaboration with local authorities and specific anti-trafficking units, we have managed to rescue more than 66 victims in the last few years, later offering them a safe place for their rehabilitation.

One of the most recent operations allowed us to be part of the rescue operation of two young women who were being sexually exploited. After a complex field work carried out by the police and our own Rescue team, two university students aged 23 and 26 from very poor families were located. They had been deceived with a fake job offer as waitresses in a hotel. However, after accepting the offer, they found themselves trapped by the traffickers, who forced them into sex work and prostitution.

Gratefully, a good coordination between the team and the official authorities allowed to arrest the trafficker and transferr the rescued girls to a shelter to heal their wounds and start their way towards recovery and rehabilitation. They are in safe hands now. After some weeks, they will be able to decide if they want to return to their native place or remain in the shelter home.

Since 2020 we have carried out 42 rescue operations, through which we have cooperated in the rescue of 66 victims from trafficking. Evenmore, 21 traffickers have been arrested are will face the law for their actions.

There is still a lot of work to do . But every single life saved is definitely worth it. All these efforts can be done thanks to your support.

Thank you!

Links:

Two more young women are rescued from the exploitation

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