Tearfund: No Child Taken

At our first Supper Talks evening a few weeks ago we heard fromTearfund about their work. They arecurrently running a number of Campaigns, we will feature a number of them over the coming weeks on this website. No Child Taken is an effort to stop the devastating impact of child trafficking on many of the poorest community’s in the world. Trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the world. It shatters the lives of 1.2 million children every year, along with their families. But there are effective ways to stop this evil trade in its tracks. Nazeeb was 14 when the men knocked on the door of his home.

They offered Nazeeb a job for 6,000 Rupees (£60) a month. He had just left school to provide for his family. This was exactly the break he had been hoping for.There was one catch: he would have to go with the men to work in Punjab. But, his mother was told, there would be food and lodgings. And he would be able to send money home every month.

Once Nazeeb reached Punjab the reality was very different. He worked 21 hours a day in a zip factory with 11 other workers. They were locked in all week and had to sleep inside the cramped factory at night. Worst of all, they weren’t paid – Nazeeb was the victim of traffickers and was now a slave.

The one day they weren’t locked into the factory – Sunday – the 12 of them were locked out and were homeless. Nazeeb grew weak and then ill. The factory manager refused to take him to hospital. Finally he managed to borrow the train fare home from someone he met in Punjab and fled. Neither Nazeeb nor his family had heard of trafficking before and so they were deceived by the men when they came calling.

Nazeeb got home safely. Thanks to a loan from Tearfund, he helps his family raise chickens. The whole family now gets to eat regularly. The traffickers returned and demanded Nazeeb back. Thanks to the EHA, Nazeeb’s mother knows all about trafficking now and is spreading the word to others too. Needless to say, she sent the men packing.

More infomation about Tearfund and the No Child Taken campaign can be found on their website.