“I have only my pain”
From Walk Free [email protected]
“My daughter is not here, my husband is not here. I have only my pain: I live with my pain only.” – Susena1
Susena’s daughter Laxmi was 12-years-old when she disappeared, lured by a trafficker promising a better life. Devastated, Susena’s husband left their home in a desperate search for their missing daughter, joining many others searching for their loved ones.
This is just one of the many stories of a unique situation of poverty that leaves generations of families on tea estates in Assam, India vulnerable to trafficking and modern slavery. These stories have most recently been reported across estates owned by Amalgamated Plantations (APPL) — a company whose biggest shareholder is Tata Global Beverages (Tata), parent company of Tetley tea.2
We’re calling on Tata Global Beverages to use their influence and show leadership in the fight to end human trafficking in Assam — and thanks to pressure from the Walk Free community, they are listening. Tata has been in touch to update us on the steps they are taking to improve the living and working conditions on these tea estates following the completion of a recent audit.3 Unfortunately the company hasn’t gone far enough.
We need to continue to put pressure on Tata Global Beverages: CLICK HERE to tell Tata to take responsibility in addressing human trafficking from the tea estates of Assam.
This is an urgent problem that requires an urgent solution. Men, women, and children from the Assam tea-growing region are being deceived with promises of a new life and great work opportunities and are ultimately being trafficked and exploited to cities across India — a form of modern slavery fuelled by labour practices and working conditions on the tea plantations that leave workers and their families vulnerable to trafficking.
We want to see Tata Global Beverages, as a major shareholder of APPL, show leadership in preventing people being trafficked out of the tea plantations. This means:
Being transparent about the steps the company is taking in this area.
Producing a detailed action plan with clear deadlines and financial investment towards specific commitments to reduce workers vulnerability to modern slavery.
Leading other industry players in a joint effort to tackle the root causes of the problem.
Tata has a significant role to play and must take their share of the responsibility in tackling this crime — with your continued support, we can make sure they do just that.
Call on Tata to take significant and transparent steps to help end this human trafficking now. Go to: http://www.walkfree.org/tata-lead-fight-end-human-trafficking-assam/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tata-lead-fight-end-human-trafficking-assam&utm_content=Tata_EmailTarget_Chaser_en_Prospect_Ex_28Nov14
Links:
1 http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/mar/02/tea-workers-sold-into-slavery
2 http://www.stopthetraffik.org/download.php?type=resource&id=833
IMAGE: www.beveragedaily.com
