By Verghese V Joseph –
Human traffickers in North-East India are actively using cyber media to lure youth through chatting and fraudulent calls, said Dr M Devasitham, Head of strategic development, International Justice Mission, Chennai during a webinar titled ‘North East India Youth Summit’ on 12th September.
The summit was an initiative of United Christian Forum North East India (UCFNEI) in collaboration with Hope Charitable Foundation (HCF). Special invitees for the summit were North East Regional Youth Commission (NERYC) which comprised youth directors, animators and youth leaders from all states of North-East India.
In his presidential address, Bishop Thomas Pulloppillil, the president of UCFNEI said, “Human trafficking is affecting the youth of our region, we are united against this fight. We need to become more and more aware of this reality. Our region has become one of the most sought after hot spots for this modern slavery. The majority of our youth who are taken are girls. We need to strategize our plans and take up this clarion call to save our youth”.
In his keynote address, Mr Jimmy Laltlanmawia, CEO of Social Justice and Development India, Aizawl, Mizoram cited the examples of children being sent to Coimbatore from North-East India. “There is no doubt that our youth are vulnerable and we need to educate our people,” he added.
Dr Devasitham in his presentation on cyber trafficking shared the components of human trafficking: the acts, the means and various purposes. The purposes of human trafficking: labour, sex and organ sale, he highlighted.
He further stated that, “Social media platforms are used to lure youth through chatting and fraudulent calls. The typical cases of youth taken from North East to Siliguri and then to Delhi was an eye-opening narrative. Similarly, youth from North East are taken to various destinations in India and abroad. The international borders of North East make this work more lucrative.”
According to him, “The unemployment impact of COVID-19 too has accelerated the work of traffickers as many of them target the vulnerabilities of the situation and persons. The youth who lost the jobs are belonging to the age group of 22 to 30. Hotels and malls are shutdown, the tourism sector incurred huge losses. Added to these push factors, there is also desperation for livelihood and sustenance.”
“Migration of people cannot be prevented but we need to know where our youth are going for work and studies. Gone are the days when traffickers used to visit the villagers; the internet platforms have made their work easy and less expensive as they do not have to travel,” Dr Devasitham added.
Dr Devasitham further stated, “The COVID 19 pandemic has affected youth behaviour pattern and their time spend on cyberspace. Within minutes traps can be made and executed. We need to create awareness, let us not stand alone, let us not work alone, join with government and other structures to fight human trafficking”.
Mathew Joseph, vice president and head of Artificial Intelligence Labs, (CIMB) Apar Technologies, in his presentation on ‘Artificial Intelligence in Social media and its impact on youth’ said, “Internet platforms can scan and predict behaviour through deep learning, analyse data, identify the photo and often can also sell the data to others. The browsers often come up with ads that are suitable for the behaviour of a person, bank accounts can be accessed through phones, modelling offers and movie offers are some of the common activities”. Mathew is also an alumnus of the University of Chicago and an artificial intelligence expert and has also worked earlier with TCS and Siemens.
“How do we protect our youth: Never accept unknown friends, it is commonly said that HR departments and companies scan the social media behaviour of persons for a job. Whatever is posted on social media can never be deleted as they are all registered on servers. The dangers include false marketing, email ids are taken from sites, personal ids and ph.no on social media can be taken by others. To combat online bullying, there are also cyber cells active with police, comments and forwards can be penalised,” he added.
The moderator of the event was Prof Lalrindiki Ralte from Aizawl Theological College, Mizoram.
The opening and closing hymn was presented by Mr Wan Dame Chwa Sumer and Ms Hacany Dasuk Sumer from Carmel Attard Symphonic Choir, from Shillong, Meghalaya.
The welcome address was given by Sr Bernadette Kropi MSMHC, who heads NERYC.
Dr. B J Syiemlieh, PCI Meghalaya responding to the presentations said, ‘We need to provide our youth alternatives and guidance. Traffickers are well planned, Can we use social media to counter the cyber attacks on our youth?” he asked.
In the words of Bosco Debbarma the NERYC Youth President, although there are difficulties to identify the traffickers on social media the responsibility cannot be ignored.
Miss. Jeremai Krong, Youth Advisor of Catholic Youth Association, Miao Diocese, Arunachal Pradesh remarked, “How do we pass this information to our youth in our villages is a challenge and a responsibility for youth animators and workers? Our youth also need to be active on social media to counter this menace of our society”.
The benediction was pronounced by Rev W C Khongwir from Shillong, Meghalaya.
The closing hymn entitled ‘We shall overcome’ sang in different languages of North East region was a sign of hope and a unified voice to counter human trafficking. The popular song sang by the youth affirmed these human trafficking challenges can be overcome by human efforts in solidarity and by God’s grace.