We feel so fortunate that Ruchira Gupta was able to pay a visit to Middlebury College last week! Among many other achievements, Ms. Gupta founded the anti-trafficking organization Apne Aap, received the Clinton Global Citizens Award in 2009, directed the Emmy-award winning documentary, “The Selling of Innocents,” and is now working with the Indian government to enhance content and enforcement of human trafficking legislation.
After a few airline hurdles, Ms. Gupta finally did arrive in Middlebury, and we welcomed her our campus with to a casual Atwater lunch on Thursday. We were able to ask her questions about her experience working with victims of sex trafficking, her founding of Apne Aap, her vision of NGOs in social justice work, and the role of students in delivering change . We reconvened in the afternoon for the lecture, and were very happy to see many new faces, parents, and individuals from the Middlebury community! Ruchira gave an overview of the sex trafficking trade (it’s who, what, where, when, and how) and then made a call to action: Ruchira believes that even though we are geographically far from many victims of sex trafficking, we cannot let our distance excuse inaction. If we recognize our common humanity, we surely realize that whether we are in Mumbai or Middlebury, we must do all we can to help individuals make their own lives.
We plan to be in communication with Ruchira in the near future, to receive advice about how Stop Traffick can most effectively be a part of the campus community and the wider anti-trafficking movement. Thank you for everybody who came out to the event, and a huge thanks to Ruchira Gupta for her time, wisdom, and inspiration! For more information on her work, please visit www.apneaap.org! (She does accept English speaking volunteers!)
