NSS volunteers attend a session at American center

NSS volunteers attend a session at American center

On July 30th, students of iLEAD, including NSS (National Service Scheme) volunteers, attended a session at American Centre on 'Fighting against human trafficking' led by the center’s director Adrian Pratt.

Pratt opened the session by stating that human trafficking is estimated to be a $100 billion industry operating right in our community. Additionally, he confirmed that because of the pandemic, the crime of human trafficking has significantly increased and taken over the internet.

The conversation also brought up Nobel peace prize laureate Kalyan Satyarthi, who has spent the last 40 years at the forefront of this conflict.

Next, Dr. Melissa Bruche took the podium to continue the discussion of human trafficking during the pandemic and addressed the technical factors that have significantly contributed to the rise of this severe crime.

She described human trafficking in terms of its acts, means, and purposes. The activities include exporting, harbouring, providing, and obtaining a person; the means include using physical force to make someone act; deceiving; falsely representing an opportunity that does not exist; and perversion, which is psychological manipulation.

She described human trafficking as four Ps: Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, and Partnership. It is now an accepted definition of human trafficking on a global scale.

The students were then presented with a short clip that shook them to the core. It showed a girl who endured great challenges but never lost her heart for hockey, demonstrating how people can suffer through hardships and still succeed.

A young woman who spoke about her story and how she had fallen into a dreadful trap of exploitation and slavery was another real-life inspiration present at the event. She demonstrated to the students how damaged our social fabric is with her statements.

To see the reality of the status quo and current circumstances, in the session, the pupils were introduced to the austerity women have to go through. The event gave them a clear picture of the world's reality and the crisis it is facing.