By Our Reporter
Human trafficking is a growing menace in developing countries that has its roots in poverty, greed and discrimination. A government data released last year showed that incidents of trafficking have increased 25 per cent in one year and the victims were women and children from economically backward families who are sold in the illegal market either for flesh trade or organ smuggling.
Free Trade, a play written and directed by Naomi Bhuyan, associate professor in the English Department of Sankardev College, was recently staged in the city for public awareness. The drama vividly depicted the trauma that a victim goes through and the darkness that is engulfing thousands of vulnerable women and children.
“Free Trade is the voice of Asia and Africa as the cast comprised Indians and foreign students from Asia and Africa,” said Bhuyan, who got a request from a group youth last year to write something on the issue. The name Free Trade denotes how humans have become a commercial commodity, explained the playwright and director.
Students from different colleges and institutes — Sankardev College, St Anthony’s, Shillong College, St Edmund’s, Bissau College, Lady Keane, Umshyrpi College, Seven Set Higher Secondary School, IIAD Delhi, IGNOU and NIOS — were part of the 28-member cast. Bhuyan said she was researching on the topic for months before she penned down the play, which won accolades from bureaucrats and other prominent citizens for his realistic story-telling.
“It was very intense and tough to handle the topic due to the seriousness of the subject. For case studies, I had to approach Impulse NGO Network, senior journalists like Grassroots Options, the foreigners who were involved in the play who also authenticated the script regarding this problem in their country and finally, members of the public who shared their views. Then intuitively and through my creativity the script of Free Trade was finally completed,” she added.
Artistes rehearsed daily for one month (April-May) and during college semesters in June, they would meet thrice a week.
The story is about four trafficked victims who were taken to a kingpin for prostitution. The story also talks about a male prostitute who faced the threat of organ harvesting from traffickers, for whom trading in human is only a “cattle herding practice”.
Each victim had his or her story to tell. For instance, one victim, a young girl, went to a metro in search of job and was trafficked. Another girl fell in love with a man on internet and eloped with him. Love ended in tragedy and the girl was became a sex slave.
Eventually, two police personnel working with the trafficker under cover led to the arrest of the gang. The final scene focused on reporters, the police and the NGO lady who had a discussion on trafficking.
The actors portrayed the characters perfectly and were widely applauded by the audience. Theatre grooms each participant in character building, personality development, team building and the holistic growth of the actor and those involved in the drama experienced this in completeness, the playwright said with pride.
“First of all the public were amazed with the realism depicted in the play and the way the actors authenticated their roles. It was shocking and painful, they said. Regarding the authorities they were very impressed with the realism of the performance as stated and the truth depicted in the theme. They wanted more of such awareness programmes in the future and said they would extend help to get access to any details I would require,” Bhuyan said but instantly added that Free Trade was just the tip of the iceberg and “there is so much to write and explore about this dark theme”.
When asked whether she would work on the issue in future, Bhuyan said, “Yes, I would definitely like to pursue more of such awareness ventures in the future about this field and also other social evils. I hope people will extend their help to make it a reality.”
