We never really know what is going to happen from one moment to the next in our lives. We might be going about our business, feeling as if life is perfectly normal or perhaps not even given it much thought. In a blink of an eye, however, we might be right in the middle of one of the most serious issues that we have ever faced. It’s not something that we plan ahead for but when it does happen, we want to ensure that we take the right steps.
A passenger on a train observed something that seemed out of the ordinary. In the end, 26 Indian girls were saved from two human traffickers at the beginning of July. This is a story that has turned the lives around for those young women and it is also evidence of the fact that we really need to be careful in this world.
It started when Adarsh Shrivastava was traveling through northern India on a train. He noticed that the fellow passengers were not quite what he would expect. 26 young girls were in his carriage that were between 10 and 14 years old. They seemed to be under a lot of stress and some of them were crying. He was concerned that something might be wrong so he created a Twitter account and sent a message to the rail authorities, the Prime Minister and the Minister for railways.
I am traveling in Avadh express(19040). in s5. in my coach their are 25 girls all are juvenile some of them are crying and all feeling unsecure.@RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyal @PMOIndia @PiyushGoyalOffc @narendramodi @manojsinhabjp @yogi
— Adarsh Shrivastava (@AdarshS74227065) July 5, 2018
He included the train number and his cabin number in the tweet. He also shared details about his suspicions that they may be dealing with human trafficking. He gave his current position and the upcoming stops, so they knew exactly where they could find them.
subject to human trafficking )my current station is Hari Nagar my next station is BAGAHA and then Gorakhpur.kindly help them out. Please help.@RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyal @PiyushGoyalOffc @PMOIndia @narendramodi @rajnathsingh
— Adarsh Shrivastava (@AdarshS74227065) July 5, 2018
It took under a half hour for the Ministry of Railways to respond. When the train stopped a few stops later, police officers arrived and arrested the men who were with the girls.
“[Twenty-six] girls were found with two men, aged 22 and 55 years. All of them are from West Champaran in Bihar,” the Railway Police Force (RPF) said in a statement. “The girls were being taken from Narkatikyaganj to Idgah. When questioned the girls were unable to answer anything convincingly, so they have been handed over to the child welfare committee.”
“Their parents have been informed and the men have been taken into custody,” RPF added.
Many people on twitter have been praising him and asked that he be honored by the Prime Minister. This humble man simply responded by saying “Thanks, but as a citizen of India, it’s our responsibility to help people.”
Kindly look into this matter @rpfner
— Indian Railways Seva (@RailwaySeva) July 5, 2018
According to the Epic Times, over 9000 children were victims of human trafficking in India in 2016. It increased substantially from the previous year.
RT notes that the rescue “comes less than a month after India’s Railway Board launched an awareness campaign to highlight the risks of vulnerable young children on the railway network. The campaign encourages railway passengers and employees to remain vigilant while using India’s train systems to help railway police stamp out child traffickers.”
“Many children are sold into slavery after being lured from their homes in rural areas to the city with promises of jobs,” RT added. “Children, usually from poor and rural areas, are hoodwinked into leaving their homes on the promise of getting jobs in the city. They are then trafficked for child labor, sex work, child brides, adoption, and sometimes sent overseas. Earlier this year, the Ministry announced that it was increasing its effort to tackle trafficking.”
Activists around the globe have been coming together in recent years to protect innocent children from human trafficking. When citizens get involved and know the signs, they may be able to save lives.
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