Drowned in debts, sleeping hungry; Silchar’s redlight area cries for help

By Anirban Roy Choudhury and Ahadul Ahmed 

Around 70 sex workers earn for a population of about 300 in Silchar’s redlight area. There are kids going to school, some are autistic, malnutritioned children under treatment, while they also fend for aging parents. That narrow lane in Silchar with brothels on both sides has deeper wounds and many scars than the frayed walls can show the world. The sex workers stand outside, wearing the best clothes, the perfect makeup that they can afford, and try relentlessly to woo men.

There were days when 200 men walked into the red light area seeking pleasure and even on a regular day, it used to be around 70 to 100. Since the second wave has hit Barak Valley, the number of men visiting the red light area has reduced to four to five. “Most men used to be the drivers of trucks or buses that would ply with goods. Then there were young boys who visited Silchar for interviews or tourism. We used to get clients from Karimganj and Hailakandi. All of that has dried up as it happened last year during the lockdown,” says a woman who is bedridden but looks after a group of about 25 workers.

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared a nationwide lockdown to combat the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country. This year, he has left it for individuals states to decide the course of action. In Assam, everything that is not considered an essential service must shut at 11 am. Movement of individuals is banned from 12 noon. “Our business begins at night. During the day, masked women are appealing to none. The girls here wake up at 9:00 and they have their household chores too. By the time they stand in front of the brothels, the streets are already deserted and there are no clients at all,” adds the woman speaking from her bed.

 

“We don’t want money. We don’t want clothes. We are sleeping hungry, our kids are sleeping hungry. All we want is some help from society. Dal, rice and a few vegetables for us to have meals at least twice a day are all we need. I urge the government and deputy commissioner of Cachar who herself is a woman, to divert some attention towards us and our children as we are humans too,” a worker in the red light area.

 

Last year, as the business was low, many of them took loans to run their house, pay tuition fees. Most of them pay hefty interests. “For us, life is livelihood. If we don’t earn, we don’t eat. How do we repay our debts when we do not have food to eat. We are stuck with absolutely no help,” says a sex worker.

Last year, they had relief coming in from all quarters. “First OC Silchar Sadar, Ditumoni Goswami Sir came in our support. He arranged for a donation drive and each one of us got rice and dal. Then SP Cachar, Manabendra Dev Ray Sir organised another relief and we were given essentials. MLA Dilip Paul handed over packets each containing rice, dal, oil, and salt. We don’t know where the materials came from, but the donations saved us from sleeping hungry. This year, everyone has turned their back on us,” the sex worker adds.

“We don’t want money. We don’t want clothes. We are sleeping hungry, our kids are sleeping hungry. All we want is some help from society. Dal, rice and a few vegetables for us to have meals at least twice a day are all we need. I urge the government and deputy commissioner of Cachar who herself is a woman, to divert some attention towards us and our children as we are humans too,” adds another worker in the redlight area.

The seniors who have retired say that this is the worst time they have seen in the last 50 years. Such low footfall of clients has forced many of the girls to go away in search of other means of income. “Here the girls come by choice. They earn for their families. Many of them tell at home that they work somewhere else but actually woo men here at the brothels. They earn money and go back to their homes. Now they are finding it difficult to make ends meet. If they go from here in search of money, it is certain that they are going further down the hills and not up the ladder,” adds another woman in charge of a set of brothels and sex workers.

The Chief Minister of Assam, recently, in a historic speech said that the State must act with a “Humane Heart” in its fight against the second wave of Covid19. When he said that he meant a humane heart for all and not some. Sex workers and transgenders face the most discrimination in society. They do not get the benefits under the Arunodoi scheme as most of them are young parents. The Prime Minister of India announced that the Centre will provide 5 kg of food grains free-of-cost to around 80 crore Indians under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) beneficiaries during May and June 2021 amidst the second wave of COVID-19 cases. Not a single individual in the redlight area has got a grain yet.

Moreover, in West Bengal and other states, the government took the initiative to get the sex workers vaccinated as a priority as they come into physical contact with people. In Silchar, no such initiative has been taken yet. “In fact, the district health department did not test our samples. Last year, under the targeted surveillance programme, our samples were tested but this year, even the healthcare workers have ignored us,” regretted a young worker in the redlight area. For her, COVID infection is better than sleeping hungry and on the roads.

From Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 a day, their income has dropped to Rs 50-60. “When there are 70 odd workers and only five to six customers, how will they earn anything. It is a bad time for everyone, but for us, it is life in death,” asserts the bed-ridden woman who thinks her days are numbered.

 

“In West Bengal, they have strong unions. There are NGOs looking after the wellbeing of the sex workers. Here, we have a ward commissioner (former) who listens to us and Deshabandhu Club NGO that provides us medical assistance. Here we do not have unions or large NGOs to table our demands in an organised manner and that is why we are more deprived and deserted,” asserted the woman who is bed-ridden.

In 2011, Mamta Banerjee invited 43-year-old sex worker Folka at her swearing-in ceremony as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. Silchar does not have a Sonagachi, but it does have MLAs and MPs and the sex workers plead people’s representatives to pay some attention. “They come and pray before us for votes but forget us once the election is over. There are many schemes that the Modi-Government has rolled out to ensure people are not sleeping hungry. We urge our public representatives to see that we get those benefits and not sleep hungry,” the sex workers say in unison.

From Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 a day, their income has dropped to Rs 50-60. “When there are 70 odd workers and only five to six customers, how will they earn anything. It is a bad time for everyone, but for us, it is life in death,” asserts the bed-ridden woman who thinks her days are numbered.

 

 

While a large section of the society considers the people in redlight area as untouchables or beneath their ‘standards’ the fact is that they live just like anyone else. There are kids with toys and books and they go to school as others do. One girl who grew up in the redlight area became a doctor and now serves patients infected by COVID19. Many who thought her mother is untouchable and has no space in society are now her patients, being diagnosed by her touches and cured by her prescription. It proves the saying of London preacher Henry Melvill, “We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results.”

A little sympathetic approach towards them can do a world of good to the 300 odd people living in disastrous conditions in the narrow street in Silchar that is known as the red light area or pleasure lane. If humans are not sympathetic towards fellow humans who will be? As Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika’s famous lines go, “Manuhe Manuhar Babe, Jodihe Okono Nabhabe, Akanu Hahanubhutire, Bhabibo Kunenu Kua? Homoniya…!” It is in his state they sleep hungry.