Willing to knock on any door for my children: Peace Nobel winner Satyarthi

Longtime crusader against child labour and slavery, Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi is no stranger to recognition. His work has created ripples across the globe. He was in Los Angeles last week and in Rome before that. He spoke at a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh event in Nagpur last month and will soon be at an Islamic conference in Abu Dhabi. With a film on his life’s work, The Price of Free, by David Guggenheim due to release soon, the unlikely celebrity tells Veer Arjun Singh about the experience, struggles and the risks of being  a child rights activist.Edited excerpts:

You have travelled to many countries to talk about child rights, how  are the challenges in India different?

The biggest problem in India is the marginalisation that comes with our caste system. Religious and cult leaders have large followings of different groups of people. But they don’t speak about child rights. Compared to many other counties where economic disparity is the biggest differentiator, India is grappling with a multi-faceted problem: from caste, religion and economic biases to corruption and modern slavery. 

So how do we tackle the problem of child trafficking?

The issue of child protection is also interconnected. There’s a destination, transit and a source. To give you an example in the Indian context, North-East is a source area from where children are trafficked to be domestic help and Jharkhand is a hotbed of forced labour. Similarly, children from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked to many other countries via India. Child trafficking is a global problem that must be fought by addressing challenges specific to each region. For example, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jharkhand government to put an end to Mica mining by children in Koderma. It’s not easy, it took us years to get here.

There are perhaps many people who would like to help a minor begging on the streets or being forced to work. What can they do?

How many times do these people see a child working at a tea stall or a restaurant, which is not a family-owned business, and try to figure out the child’s story. Even without taking the responsibility of the child yourself, there are many things one can do. For starters, you can tell the owner that you will not be coming to his shop because he employees a child. You can educate the child and his parents about the law against it and the various economic schemes that can help them. A social evil can’t be allowed because it is a choice.

1098 is a dedicated helpline to report authorities about children working in hazardous environments, such as factories and mines, or even being forced to beg on the road. One must be willing to gather the required awareness that precedes action and invest time in following up and coaxing the authorities to fulfill their duties.

You have been a strong proponent of stronger laws against child labour. How good is the Trafficking of Persons Bill (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill 2018  up for review in the Rajya Sabha?

It is the strongest Bill we have so far against child trafficking anywhere in the world. It properly addresses the problem of not just protection against trafficking but also rehabilitation in a time-bound manner, which has been missing in India. I have had many conversations with union minister Maneka Gandhi and my office of Bachpan Bachao Andolan has been consulted for drafting the Bill. We can debate about its implementation later, but as soon as this law is enacted, it will begin to change things around.

The soon-to-be-released film, The Price of Free, seems to be about the many raids conducted to free children from forced labour. How was it shot, and what are the risks involved for people like you?

Two of my colleagues have been killed. I have been attacked and beaten up many times, right from when I was 14 years old. To save lives you have to risk some. Davis Guggenheim’s crew followed me to many such raids across the country. They were also present when we strategised before hitting a place. Sometimes we succeeded and sometimes we failed, all of it has been captured through hundreds of hours of shooting and everything is real-time.

There were hundreds of cameras when the film was screened at the Sundance festival, and many Hollywood celebrities treated me as the star of the film. But I was overwhelmed, and I can’t live up the reputation of being a star. But when I free even one child, it’s a different kind of joy. It’s the satisfaction that I have earned. And no matter the risks, I have a simple goal, the freedom of children around the world. And I am willing to knock on any door for that.