In 2015, during a field trip to South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, Delhi-based photojournalist Smita Sharma met a 17-year-old girl who had returned home after she was rescued from a brothel in Delhi. The meeting sparked a seven-year investigation on cross-border trafficking that culminated in the photo book We Cry in Silence, which will be launched at the Indian Photo Festival 2022 in Hyderabad.
The multilingual photo book — in English, Bengali and Hindi — published by France-based FotoEvidence, is part of a year-long campaign to reach out to communities in trafficking hotspots in Bangladesh, Nepal and India through educational programs.
In an interview with The Hindu, Smita recalls the meeting: “I met a girl who I shall call Meena (name changed to protect identity). I had assumed that she had been kidnapped or trapped by someone who would have taken the time to win her trust. What I learnt, however, left me shocked and distraught.” Meena had trusted a young man she barely knew and had decided to leave home.
When she was 12, S. left her home in Bangladesh, with a family acquaintance who promised to find her a job. She was sold to a brothel in Mumbai. After two years, the police freed her and sent her to a shelter. Six months later, she met a woman who promised to take her back to Bangladesh but instead sold her to a brothel in Namkhana, West Bengal. After being rescued again, S. has been waiting for her repatriation. | Photo Credit: Smita Sharma
Most cases of trafficking are not by forceful abduction, says Smita, as it is often thought. Instead, the girls are trapped with false promises of marriage, love, jobs and an escape from the daily grind of their dreary lives, unaware of the brutalities that lie ahead.
Meena had received a phone call from a man named Raj who told her that he loved her and wanted to meet her. He met her with an elderly couple whom he introduced as his parents and proposed marriage. He mentioned that his sister ran a successful business selling sarees in Delhi and said he would like to join her, along with Meena. The elderly couple presented Meena with a sari and said they wanted her to be a part of their family. The next day, Meena was on a train bound for Delhi. But, on reaching Delhi, Raj sold her to another trafficker.
Girls paint their nails at a shelter in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Having shared similar traumatic experiences, many of them forge strong relationships with one another as they prepare to return to their families. | Photo Credit: Smita Sharma
Escape from patriarchy
As she began to dig more into human trafficking, Smita realised how vulnerable these girls are; all they want is love and affection. A peek into their daily lives, she says, gives an idea of why they are desperate to leave home. “Girls are expected to start working in the wee hours of the morning. While the boys and men of the house slept, the girl would travel miles to fetch water. On returning, she would need to cook for the family, wash the utensils, clean the house and do the laundry. A handful of these girls would be lucky enough to attend school. After school, they lend a hand with domestic chores or at the farm.”
In the works
A 12-page magazine in Hindi, English and Bengali will be published, which will include excerpts from the photo book, educational material, safety guidelines and local contact information for advocacy organisations. The books will be donated to community centres and school libraries. This idea came up when Smita met parents of a few missing girls who were too scared to go to the police station. The zine will be distributed for free to the public during exhibitions and community events in trafficking hotspots in collaboration with local advocacy partners.
Smita met over 50 young women who were trafficked and three traffickers. “Some of the girls I met were through anti-human trafficking organisations and some through lawyers and police officers. It took me three years to build trust with law enforcement and I was the only journalist allowed to meet traffickers. It was important for me to understand how traffickers manipulate, brainwash and control these girls and how this huge criminal nexus works.”
Photojournalism ethics
As a photojournalist documenting a sensitive issue, Smita was cautious to never lead with her camera. She spent time talking to the girls and making them feel comfortable. “Survivors of sexual crimes are scared of being photographed. I explained the importance of their stories and how it could help to raise awareness and prevent other young vulnerable girls from falling into the traps of the traffickers. I also explained that their identities would be hidden and that I would be using spot lights and other creative methods to photograph them.” Smita did not photograph any street signs or shop names in case someone was able to trace and identify them. She used lighting to eliminate certain parts and to create shadows to hide the girls’ faces. “Shadows and light are important in my work,” she says.
Smita Sharma | Photo Credit: Robert Caplin
Smita mentions that none of the traffickers she met showed remorse of any kind. “Both the male traffickers were married with daughters and the woman trafficker I interviewed said the girls went with her willingly and that she has given them a better life out of poverty.”
The book ‘We Cry in Silence’ by Smita Sharma | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Global recognition
The project began as a self-funded one, and in 2018, National Geographic commissioned Smita to work on a story with writer Yudhijit Bhattacharjee. The story was published as ‘Stolen Lives’ by National Geographic in October 2020 and fetched Smita the Amnesty International Media Award for photojournalism in 2021.
The global engagement and responses to Stolen Lives prompted Smita to work on a photo book. A Kickstarter campaign helped raise funds for the production.
(Smita Sharma’s book We Cry in Silence will be launched at State Gallery of Art, Hyderabad, on November 18 in Hyderabad as part of the Indian Photo Festival 2022)
