| | | | Many of these children were rescued in commando style-raids which the Society funds. Many
of our supporters ask us why these raids are necessary.
Early direct intervention in the form of unarmed commando-style raids can rescue children from further abuse and exploitation. A commando-style raidis the fastest and most efficient way to rescue them,
as children who are being exploited or abused cannot wait indefinitely.
These operations must, however, be handled in a professional manner and with the utmost care.
Most parents have no idea where their children are. Many of them approach our partners, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, asking them to help them find
their children.
A raid and rescue operation starts with trying to find the child, collecting intelligence on his or her whereabouts. Agents of the Bachpan Bachao
Andolan launch a detailed investigation and collect intelligence from their sources, especially in those States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan,
Haryana and Madhya Pradesh where child labor is endemic.
As soon as a child is located, this intelligence is passed on to the parents.
THE SOCIETY IN ACTION
The Society continues to fund commando-style raids that rescue children in northern India, as well as providing some funding for the Bal Ashram center,
run by our partners, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, which is a transit rehabilitation center for rescued children. The Society is providing further funding
for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
THIS IS THE SOCIETY IN ACTION
The Society wishes once again to thank all our members and supporters for their support.
The raid is then carefully planned. The local administration is informed about the impending raid to ensure police protection, if needed, during the operation.
However, the precise location and exact date of the raid has to be kept secret from the authorities, the police and local politicians. This is because
many local politicians and administrators are corrupt and are bribed by the owners.
This was the reason why one of the raids in late 2011 was unsuccessful. Agents had procured 500 children, either by kidnapping or by false promises to
their parents. The children were destined for sweatshops in Mumbai (it used to be called Bombay), a major city in India. The agents were taking
the children to Mumbai by train. The police were ready and waiting to seize them and rescue the children when the train arrived at Mumbai train station.
News of the impeding raid was leaked to the agents — which was very easy as they had cell phones. The agents disembarked with the children en route
before the train arrived at its destination.
A raid and rescue operation, of course, involves considerable personal risk for the rescuers.
Although these commando-style raids are unarmed, the wicked men who beat and abuse these children usually employ armed thugs and goons. For example,
in March 2011 there was an apparent attempt to kill Kailash Satyarthi.
The Society's Secretary remember Rama Kant Rai showing him the wounds that he had received from owners’ thugs while carrying out raids. Others have
been dragged in chains behind cars and threats made against their families. Some owners have even attempted to murder rescuers. Several attempts
were made to murder Rama Kant Rai and Kailash Satyarthi, who was chairman of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan and spearheads the effort to free children from
the various forms of child slavery, bonded child labor and child pawnage, thus directly undermining their profits.
Raid and rescue is not an end in itself. Rehabilitation, social reintegration and restoring them to their parents complete every rescue. Rescue
without effective rehabilitation and repatriation is futile, as there is a real risk that a rescued child will once again fall back into the cycle of exploitation.
After children are rescued, their official release certificates must be secured from the local administration. These release certificates help them obtain
their statutory rehabilitation package. This can take a long time, and obtaining these release certificates and rehabilitation packages from government
bureaucracies places an enormous pressure on the Bachpan Bachao Andolan’s resources.
The freed children are currently staying in the transit rehabilitation center of Bal Ashram (Jaipur), Rajasthan, before being restored to their parents.
Rehabilitation centers like Mukti Ashram and Bal Ashram allow rescued children to recover before being restored to their parents.
Bal Ashram in Rajasthan is a rehabilitation center where rescued children are given basic education and vocational training, along with special care and
attention to their individual development. They also participate in sporting activities. Children aged 13 and over are also provided with vocational training
in a trade of their choice (such as carpentry, tailoring, welding, motor winding, screen printing, painting, organic farming and kitchen gardening).The
vocation is chosen keeping in mind their interest in a particular trade and their earning prospects in the local area when they finish.
Who carries out these commando-style raids?
Our partners, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan. They are based in New Delhi, India. Your support helps fund these raids.
Why doesn’t the government act?
The government has laws against these practices, but they are often not enforced. Some labor inspectors who were interviewed by the BBC World Service explained that they will not investigate unless they receive a direction from their superior or from a Supreme Court judge or from an executive magistrate. It is therefore often rather futile forwarding complaints to the Labour Department and waiting for it to act.
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