PANJIM: A large part of the almost unending supply to massage parlours and spas — both legal and illegal — can be attributed to advertisements in newspapers in the North Eastern region and upper Bengal like Darjeeling.
Herald investigation has revealed that this trafficking and ultimate violent push of girls into this sex trade are through such advertisements that seek young girls to work for ‘massage parlours’ or ‘escort services’ on salaries as high as Rs 30,000 per month.
While Goa police are busy rescuing girls trafficked in the State, newspaper advertisements in the hilly States keep sending more new faces, ensuring that the wheels of the trade turn smoothly.
Darjeeling has become the latest target for human and women traffickers given their economic status and abundance of fair, sharp featured girls. A recent example is an advertisement in a Nepali daily Himalayan Darpan on April 24 openly seeking girls for ‘massage and escorts services,’ in Goa.
The untimely closure of majority tea gardens in the hilly regions of Darjeeling is reported to be fueling the supply of girls to Goa and other metros. NGOs working in this field say that several thousand girls left jobless and vulnerable look out for Goa to earn their living.
Girls are being continuously trafficked for sexual exploitation and even as domestic workers in Goa, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and other metros. This has become a latest trend in Darjeeling and Siliguri after exploiting the north eastern states,” President of Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG) Nirnay Chetri told Herald over the phone from Darjeeling.
Chetri was recently in Goa when five married women from Darjeeling were rescued from a massage-cum-spa centre, of whom four were subsequently repatriated to their native place. “There is less economic opportunity after most of the tea garden shut down. These ads lure them with promises of good decent jobs with a high salaries. Vulnerable teens and young girls are attracted to this only to realize later they are trapped,” he explained.
These girls, he said, are promised luxury accommodation and air travels. However, little do they realize that ultimately they are going to end up in the sex trade. As after reaching their destination, they become little more than bonded labour.
Goa NGO Anyay Rahit Zindagi, Director Arun Pandey said that since the girls have lighter skin colour with features similar to Chinese and Thai girls, they are preferred by the traffickers. “There is more demand for girls having fair complexion and sharp facial features because these Indian girls could be sold as foreigners to clients. The girls not knowing Hindi also adds to the advantage of the traffickers,” he said.
As per study carried out by an NGO, these vulnerable girls are also flown to Singapore. With the exploitation of this section of women a major concern, the NGOs are contemplating to persuade with the concerned governments to protect the former from falling trap to the illicit trade.
Hoardings on either sides of roads, pamphlets and moreover, classified ads in local newspapers indicate that massage parlours and spas have not only blossomed over time but these are indirect ways by some sleazy centers to attract male clients to get ‘service’.
