CRPF jawans patrol a village in Jharkhand; 21 districts of the state are affected by Naxalite violence

GUMLA (JHARKHAND): Thirteen-year-old Neela escaped the Maoists by climbing a tree where she hid all night. “I hated the place; all the time I kept thinking of how to get out.Saari raat pedh par rahi saans rok ke (I held my breath all night),“ whispers the tribal girl, who was a child slave for over three months.

It was last summer when the Maoists took her away from her village home in the interiors of Gumla. They had wanted her elder brother, but the spunky schoolgirl begged them to spare her family's life and offered to go herself instead. In the forest, Neela found she was not alone. There were other child slaves too, made to work as porters, cooks and cleaners for the extremists who moved through the jungle after nightfall.Days were spent hiding in the wilderness.

Neela is one of the few children who've managed to escape and tell their stories. The district authorities have lodged her in a children's home run by an NGO.

When TOI met her, she had been playing a game of football. She's been at the home for a year now, but the thought of those nights in the forest still gives her nightmares. Even now, she speaks in whispers, perhaps out of fear that “partywale“ (ultra-left extremists) might be lurking around, and is only too happy to return to football after a brief conversation.

Recalling the night she hid in a tree, Neela says when her captors failed to find her they decided to move from the spot before dawn.After they left, Neela ran barefoot through the wilderness and found her way back home. But not for long. She was soon sent to the children's home. Two more girls from her village were brought to the home as the families feared for their safety. Authorities however claim that the threat from Maoists has receded following the surrender of some key commanders. But the fear remains. A staffer at the home discloses how Neela and her friends got a scare on seeing two male visitors. “They went and hid behind the door. When the men left I asked them why they were hiding; they said the men had some connection with Neela's captors,“ says the staffer.

Gumla Child Welfare Committee chairperson Shambhu Singh points out that such children need special care “as they are survivors of Naxalite violence, trafficking and forced child labour“. It's vital that authorities report all rescued children to the CWC so they are able to get protection under the Juvenile Justice Act 2015. “Only if these cases reach hi districts can we monitor the child and hisher rehabilitad tion,“ Singh says. But the cases of Neela and the other two girls were not reported to the CWC, he adds.

Boys are equally at risk. Ka mal, 14, was taken away when he went to collect firewood in the jungle. In captivity for nearly three years, he would yearn for his mother and cried to be united with her. Finally, he managed to escape.

During sessions with counsel lors, the children spoke about how they were showered with verbal abuse. They revealed nuggets about life in the “dera“ (hideouts).

The groups moved at odd hours so there was no fixed routine. The day often started before sunrise for the kids. Their chores included gathering firewood and going out to the nearby village to replenish food rations. Tents were pitched at every dera and the kids slept on the ground.

Now lodged in various children's homes, they are trying to go back to being students again. Kamal's brothers come to meet him sometimes. Apart from playing football, Neela is pursuing her studies. She says she wants to join the police and save people from the violence she sees around her.

Names have been changed to protect the children's identities. The reporter's visit was supported by the 22nd National Media Awards Programme of National Foundation For India

