Upon landing we drive for 4 hours and finally arrive at Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA), a self funded hospital which runs independently funded community projects. Our home for the next couple of days. It's hard to believe that it's the only hospital within a 200km radius.
Here we are greeted by Dr Pratibha Singh, a former dental surgeon who now heads up the community health unit.
It's comforting to know that in a world of superficial role models there are real women of strength, independence, intelligence, grace and conviction who aren't afraid of standing up for what is right. Dr Singh is one role model we have had the privilege of getting to know over our few days in Assam. She and her team began community health and development projects in 2006 when a malaria epidemic was claiming up to 7 deaths a day. You'll be happy to know that through Dr Singh and her teams relentless work on building awareness and treatment program no cases, yes ZERO, cases of malaria was reported last year. It was during this fight against malaria that the team came across another problem. They noticed an eight year old boy who had severe trauma to his head and his teeth had all been knocked out. Before they could investigate further the young boy had died. Eventually it was revealed that this boy was beaten severely by his "evangelist" step father and mother. This lead to more questions about child abuse and eventually trafficking was identified as clear problem in the area. I'm not sure how I can ever process the information Dr Singh then continued to educate us with...in fact, how can anyone process the fact that a mother is willing to sell her own child for two dollars, and less than in the very hospital we were sitting in (in this area the average cost of a two year old child is $2US and 11 year old $40US - did I just say child and cost in the same sentence???), how can anyone process the fact that female feticide still occurs with baby girls being choked by grains, wrapped in plastic and thrown out with the rest of the garbage, or thrown into the river to be eaten alive by ants, how can anyone process the fact that a 3 year old girl sold into an abusive home has been burnt so badly but refused any medical attention, how can anyone process the fact that girls are being smuggled into countries as far as the middle east, how can anyone process the fact that a mother and her seven children have to escape bonded labour and walk for 8 hours in the night to seek medical attention with two of the children arriving at the hospital unconscious, how can one process the fact that girls are sold at the age of 2, frequently sexually abused by the time they are 5, married by the time they are 10 and pregnant many times over when they reach puberty. I don't think I or anyone could every process these realities but they are real stories to tell, our stories to tell, as long as we, being a part of humanity, continue to let this happen.
We ask Dr Singh what keeps her going and she gracefully replies that it's the two girls they rescued from a bus stop last week, it's the baby they rescued from the river banks, it's the hope that's restored in the children's eyes once they start rehabilitation, it's one child at a time...that's what keeps her going. Dr Singh also coordinates and runs a school for rescued women to help educate and rehabilitate.
Human trafficking and modern day slavery is a global issue and needs to be stopped by prevention and education. Raising awareness and creating noise and conversations are key on a collective scale. I'm quickly learning that if I thought I knew about humans trafficking before, I was in for a rude awakening about the depths and unfathomable truths of this modern day epidemic.
Tonight, as I sit and write, I'm thankful for silence. Silence in a world so full of noise we often forget about the harsh realities of life. Silence so I can try and process the education we've had today, but I come to the realization that sometimes things can't be processed but rather used to create a platform of change. We can't sit silent anymore.
For your reference...
http://www.ehastrc.org/about-us/emmanuel-hospital-association.html
