India is reported to be half the world’s modern slaves. Millions of people are trafficked as slaves –sell of labor, sex, skin and children is increasing. Particularly, Nepal is a source of men, women and children for forced labor, sex, organ trafficking and now the skin is trafficking.
Similar to human trafficking human skin trafficking is in existence for quite a while. Plastic surgery is an age-old practice but the huge demand for soft, fair, spotless, flawless, wrinkle-free, porcelain-like, glowing skin has encouraged the growing illegal business of skin trade in India.
Cosmetic Surgery Industry in India is booming. The skin is stolen from India and Nepal victims and then allegedly sold on to pathology laboratories in India where it is processed and exported to companies in the United States which manufacture skin and tissue derivative products for the global plastic surgery market.
That’s how this skin trade market is running.
Your demand for having a beautiful skin starts this chain. Spa service or the cosmetic surgeon will contact the skin trade agents to get a matching skin and fulfill your wish.
Such agent’s job is to hunt down poor vulnerable women/children in the remote areas of India and Nepal and cheat them into selling their skin to be used in various plastic surgeries including breast and penis enlargement surgeries in the growing aesthetics industry.
Victims are skinned alive with or without their consent.
In March 2017, an investigation by a news website revealed the skin trade between Nepal and India. Nepali women and children are particularly preferred for their fair, plain, clean and clear skin in skin trade industry.
These agents scar these victims for life against an inadequate payment. And sell this skin to labs and cosmetologists to meet the growing demand for fair skin.
That sounds so convenient and easy! But there is an alarming reality behind this.
Gori…chitti…sundar (fair…clean n clear…beautiful) is the only beauty definition to measure the beauty of our ladies in our society. For which ladies undergo all sorts of beauty techniques to fit in this beauty definition. Even cosmetic companies are benefiting in huge scale. Cosmetic/plastic surgery has gained popularity. This artificial beauty comes at a cost. Skin is being stolen to make rich men and women beautiful.
Today, skin trade is a thriving industry. Every scar of a poor tells a story. The reality behind this story is horrific and its levels of distortion are inexplicable. Victims who manage to flee brothels, unfortunately, find themselves in a much uglier reality. Often times, they are sedated or drugged and wake up to scars on their body. Victims are beaten, tortured and forced to keep their and their families mouth shut. But mostly, poverty keeps their mouth shut.
Villages like Kabrepalanchowk, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk in Nepal have become more like “Body Organ Farm” for traffickers.
Skin is in huge demand. Reportedly a 100-inch square piece of fair skin sells for Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 in Delhi and Mumbai.
The process goes like this, first, the agent will bring the victim across the Indo-Nepal border. The second agent takes them to India and the third will arrange for the skin extraction. Apart from death threats, agents make them sign the documents stating that they donated their skin rather than sold it.
More likely women and children are victimized because their skin and organ are more often in better condition since they do not smoke or drink alcohol.
Unaware of the rights and powers these poor victims with no choice and no voice are left with no justice. Poverty is the main reason for such exploitation.
Victims are living a nightmare, just for us to flaunt our artificial beauty on social media. Nose jobs, lip fillers, butt implants, penis enlargements, breast enhancements, etc Beauty industry will never reveal true facts to consumers. If inquired, they will say that they are acquiring remains of skin from the corpse.
Rich are fulfilling own whims at the cost of another’s life. And poor are paying the price of another man’s whims. The horrors of human society are endless. The disturbing death of millions in ISIS terror attacks, ruthless rape of Nirbhaya, murder, prostitution, trafficking, war, riots, slavery, racism, assaults, drugs, bombings, corruption, mass killings, domestic violence. List of dark deeds of humans is never-ending.
Inhumanity is a fact but the amount of ignorance we live with to tell the tale is shocking.
Is artificial beauty our main concern? Or to save those thousands of victims?
Trafficking is all about demand and supply. The suppliers are from Nepal, but the demand is from the rest of the world. If there is no demand, there won’t be supply and it will end trafficking.
According, to a U.N. report trafficking, is a self-defeating cycle. A study found that women who were once trafficked were more likely to become traffickers themselves in the future. Three in ten of traffickers worldwide are women.
Throughout all of this, both domestic and international laws exist that aim to crack down on trafficking. But extreme poverty is a result of trafficking. To fight trafficking, fight against poverty is necessary.
