G/TIP VISITS RESCUED BONDED LABORERS IN TAMIL NADU

UNCLAS CHENNAI 000606 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR G:CBLANK, G/TIP:MTAYLOR, AND SCA/INS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PHUM ECON KCRM PGOV SOCI KCRM IN SUBJECT: G/TIP VISITS RESCUED BONDED LABORERS IN TAMIL NADU REF: Chennai 485 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The director of the Department's office charged with combating human trafficking visited South India to hear first-hand accounts from victims of bonded labor and to witness government and NGO programs designed to help them. He also spoke with Karnataka's Chief Secretary, who downplayed the extent of the problem. Too many Indians know too little about the problem of bonded labor or simply look the other way, making it a low-priority issue for many of India's overburdened government officials. End Summary. G/TIP visits South India -------------- ¶2. (U) Ambassador-at-Large Mark Lagon, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP),visited the South Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on September 19 to meet government officials, former bonded laborers, and an NGO (International Justice Mission, or IJM) that rescues and rehabilitates victims of bonded labor. First-hand accounts of bonded labor -------------- ¶3. (U) In Hosur, a town in northwestern Tamil Nadu just across the border from Bangalore, IJM explained to Ambassador Lagon how it investigates reported cases of bonded labor, using hidden cameras and going undercover in some cases. IJM showed a video of a discussion between an undercover IJM investigator and members of a family that kept bonded labor, describing how they intimidate their victims and use their contacts with the police to track down runaways. IJM also described how it works with local government officials to rescue victims and insure they receive appropriate compensation (the law entitles them to INR 20,000 or USD 500). IJM staff said that many bonded labor victims don't report to the police, even after their escape, because of both fear of the police as well as low expectations that anything will actually be done. They then explained how IJM continues to work closely with victims -- many of whom have worked as bonded laborers for most of their lives -- after their rescue to make sure that they avoid falling back into a bondage. ¶4. (U) Two victims explained to Ambassador Lagon how they fell into bondage at a brick kiln by accepting a wage advance that was impossible to pay back. The victims described their difficult lives as bonded laborers, subjected to beatings, insults, difficult working conditions, and threats to them and their families. They also explained how they managed to escape and rescue their families thanks to IJM's assistance. ¶5. (U) IJM also showed Ambassador Lagon a collection of a dozen or so modest homes 40 km southeast of Hosur (also in Tamil Nadu) built by the government for freed victims of bonded labor. These victims (and their families) had worked in either brick kilns or bakeries near Bangalore before their rescue. Two victims recounted their lives as bonded laborers in a bakery and then greeted the Ambassador with a cooking demonstration that resulted in tasty, cookie-type treats. Another freed laborer demonstrated how to make bricks and explained that he had used his compensation to establish his own brick-making business. A Slightly Different Reality -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ambassador Lagon then returned to Bangalore to meet with Pradhal Mahishi, Chief Secretary of Karnataka, and Gopal Hosur, Joint Police Commissioner for Crime. Mahishi explained that he was well acquainted with the bonded labor situation, having headed the state government division that dealt with bonded labor cases for five years earlier in his career. Mahishi told Ambassador Logan that bonded labor was not a pervasive problem in Karnataka. He stressed that perpetrators of bonded labor faced stiff jail terms (minimum six months) if caught, making the risk not worth the possible benefit of keeping bonded labor. Mahishi also explained that the police are trained to identify bonded labor when they see it. ¶7. (SBU) When faced with Ambassador Lagon's skepticism of this relatively rosy picture, Mahishi back-pedaled a bit, admitting that the unorganized labor sector was at far greater risk for falling victim to bonded labor than those working in the organized sector. He also admitted that properly investigating and enforcing the law against bonded labor is difficult, as the social fabric of village life makes it difficult for outsiders to understand, let alone intervene appropriately. ¶8. (SBU) Ambassador Lagon questioned whether Mahishi was saying that bonded labor was not a problem or that it was a difficult problem to solve. Mahishi said that the government's focus was on enforcing the Minimum Wage Act, which allows the government to address more effectively a wider variety of improper labor practices. Mahishi also promised to provide a written description of the protocols police use to investigate bonded labor cases and a recent report prepared by the Women and Children Development Secretary that described Karnataka's efforts against human trafficking. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The Chief Secretary's account of the bonded labor situation contrasted starkly with what Ambassador Lagon witnessed earlier in the day. Mahishi's seeming lack of understanding of the problem almost certainly stems from the fact that this is simply not an issue that anyone has brought to his attention recently. This may well have been his first conversation on the subject since he led the department responsible for this issue years ago. NGOs like IJM can play an important role in combating ignorance of the extent of bonded labor, especially when they work constructively with local government officials. (Note: Although IJM had informed post that they would include local government officials in the day's schedule, this meeting with Majishi was added separately when IJM was not able to follow through with government meetings. End note). Most Indians officials certainly recognize instinctively that bonded labor is morally repugnant, but they seem to know little about it and to give it a low priority among their numerous responsibilities. Constructive engagement with local authorities, possibly involving NGOs and training of police and other officials, may be an effective way to combat this ignorance. ¶10. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy New Delhi but was not cleared by Ambassador Lagon prior to his departure from India. HOPPER