Drinking holes & soliciting women. Nothing’s changed in Baina (Herald)

It’s been 11 years since the cubicles of prostitution, were demolished on Baina beach by the Manohar Parrikar government. But has the cleanup really happed. As the horrific stories of babies being sold and daughters forced into prostitution, emanate from Baina, HERALD went to the same old place and realised that that cubicles may have gone but what happened in June 2004 still does in June 2015

13 Jun, 2015, 01:41AM IST

NAVIN JHA

navin@herald-goa.com

BAINA: For the past week, Goa was waking up to stories of a baby sale trade and women forcing daughters into prostitution, from the Baina area. To some this was yesterday, once more. Goa thought Baina was clean, with the cubicles demolished and the prostitutes gone. When this reporter and his photo journalist office colleague went to Baina on Thursday night, nothing much was expected. But in the makeshift bars, June 2011, came back to life in June 2015.

In a couple of bars by the coast, women milled around effortlessly chatting with other customers. The women were regulars and were drinking either on credit or someone was paying for them. 

While there was no confirmation that these women were indeed soliciting, the indications were strong enough to suggest otherwise. One woman came up to the Herald photojournalist and asked for a “quarter”. “Sahab ek quarter pila do na” (Sir, can you give me a quarter litre bottle). Before Team Herald could react, someone realised that a team of journalists were in the bar, the scene changed drastically. Most of the women rushed out. Even a few male customers came out of bar. “No we are here just to have some drinks and then we will rush back home quickly,” said a female alcoholic who was later seen at the same bar for over an hour.

After spending over two hours visiting a few other places where the same scene was played out, the team left the area to meet the NGO that played a crucial role in exposing the human trafficking racket busted in Biana recently. “Yes one would see few alcoholic women in bars very frequently. They the bar with the hope that people would sponsor them drinks, as these girls have no money. They also drink on credit and in return the bar owners expect these females to pay back by providing services to customers,” said representative of NGO ARZ Arun Pandey. The customers and the bar owners then “settle” amounts.

But as the prostitution story is played out, the shadow of women selling girl babies born of their live in partners or customers looms large. While chatting with many women who were drinking alone or with other bar customers, this reporter heard them saying that they needed to finish drinking and go back as their sons were waiting. Not one of them said a daughter was waiting. Have they all been sold? We wonder.

On the 11th anniversary of the Baina demolitions, we realised that cubicles may have been destroyed but what happened inside them, hasn’t.

 

 http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Drinking-holes-soliciting-women-Nothing%E2%80%99s-changed-in-Baina/89692.html