Guwahati: A symposium on media and human trafficking was held at North East Diocesan Social Service Society (NEDSSS) Guwahati on July 20th.
Fr. K.J. Jose introduced the dignitaries of the day and welcomed the participants.
Fr. Sebastian Ouseparampil, in his welcome address, urged the need for a healthy involvement of media in order to control human trafficking. “The efforts of a single person or NGO or government departments are not enough to tackle this problem therefore we all need to address this issue at different levels,” he said.
Fr. Tom Mangattuthazhe presented a concept note on the symposium in which he said the situation of North-East India with regards to human trafficking was very grim.
Dr. R. P. Athparia, an eminent scholar and senior anthropologist, moderated the symposium.
Dr. Anupa Lahkar Goswami presented a media model for reporting on human trafficking. She presented the figures and causes of human trafficking. She also emphasised the need for media awareness to face the challenges of human trafficking.
Mr. Thomas Alex, a freelance journalist, presented the different legal acts on human trafficking. He also mentioned different purposes for which human trafficking was done. He stressed that sensitization by the media was needed in this field.
Sr. Janet Tellis, an anthropologist, spoke about the economic influence of human trafficking. According to her, attractive and digitalised ways of awareness has to be highlighted widely.
Dr. Priyanka Patowari, in her presentation, dealt with the role of social workers in eradicating human trafficking. “Knowing the vulnerability of the children, much care has to be given to them,” she said.
A fruitful interaction was seen throughout the symposium. Dr. Ranga Ranjan Das gave the concluding remarks summarising the talks of the symposium and presented necessary legal information in fighting against human trafficking.
