‘Me and my mother and the babies, we live in a hut, in a room, next to the canal. We have nothing. We only wish for my father to come and live with us again. You see my foot?’ She pointed to her left foot. Startled, Dilawar now saw she had only four toes. ‘One night when I was small, a rat ate my little toe in the night. That is how we live. But it is OK. I am good at selling flowers.’
It was in 2011 that I watched the documentary The Day My God Died. I blogged about it shortly thereafter. Seven years later, after a number of false starts, my story inspired by the film sees the light of day.
It’s not a book that you may wish to read. It’s disturbing though not graphic. But, knowing that – as individuals – we are powerless to halt human trafficking, I felt impelled to write on the subject. If it helps to raise awareness then who knows, it might do some good.
Kindle e-book at the moment, paperback to follow shortly.
United Kingdom – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KV4SJX9
United States – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KV4SJX9
India (where much of the story is set) – https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07KV4SJX9
Back On The Rock 
What you write about the book is so true and you can be proud to have had the courage to expose the reality of this terrible trafficking. I’m sure it will help even if you never know about it 😉
Well done, matey.
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Thank you Alex, I know I’ll always have your support. I feel helpless so this is the best I can do.
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Fascinating premise. Hope it sells well. The topic sounds fascintating.
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Thanks EQ, fascinating if one is detached I guess, but it’s horrifying in truth.
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Sadly, this is such a relevant topic in our society….congratulations, Roy!
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Thanks Jill. Sadly there seems to be little intent to do much about it.
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About to order my e-book and gird my loins for a tough topic by one of my go-to authors! 🙂
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Ah thanks for your support Jane, always appreciated.
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Back again, Roy. I just finished your most recent – yet another – eminently readable novel. It sure is a tough subject to read about, and I had several diversions that took me away from girding my loins for what horrible things might befall your protagonists next. But kudos to you for being touched by such a powerful and powerfully wrenching topic and building a full novel of fiction around it. So well done. Knowing something about your distaste for long distance travel, I’m going to guess that you haven’t been to that part of the world yourself. I have, and your scenes and descriptions are extremely realistic. Maybe that is part of what made it a hard read for me; I could imagine it in spades! Without wanting to give anything away, I was relieved that your ending didn’t leave me in inconsolable despair! 😉 Bravo. Bravo, indeed.
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Ah thanks so much for your lovely comments Jane. It’s a lonely moment for a writer when a book goes out into the world. Though I don’t expect a lot of people to choose this one (for exactly the reasons you mention) thus far it’s been well received.
No I’ve certainly not been to the sub-continent, or intend to. I did a lot of research and YouTubing, plus I have a contact living in Kolkata who checked I wasn’t making too many mistakes, and that my perceptions were good enough. And nice that you can endorse that.
Thanks again Jane, I appreciate your support as always.
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I can’t wait to read it, Roy! It’s a fascinating topic. I’ll go order my copy. 🙂
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Ah thank you Juliann, though it worries me when my blogger friends trust me like that. Might be rubbish 😦
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I applaud you for delving into this most awful subject. Closing our eyes to sex trafficking does not make it go away. Writing about the horrors, opening the eyes of many, that, we hope, will help bring a loud enough voice and force to help eliminate it. Optimistic of me, but bringing the horror to light is a start.
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Thank you Pam. Indeed there are so many ‘good causes’ in our present-day world that this one doesn’t seem worthy of attention. It rarely affects us personally unlike, say, health under-funding, obesity, poverty, climate change, immigration etc. Yes it’s all around us if we scratch the surface. The statistics for the United States are as horrifying as elsewhere. Even here in our ‘idyllic’ island there are indicators that slavery goes on – in the agriculture and hospitality industries, as well as sex work in various establishments.
But worst of all is the fact that so many are minors that find they have little or no protection once away from their families, and too little resource devoted to tackling the problem. No votes in it.
Maybe, as you say, if enough people speak up then attention will be diverted from other worthy causes. Look at how plastic pollution – barely on the radar until recently – has begun to be tackled seriously.
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I agree whole heartedly. If enough people start making some noise, maybe it can finally be a “cause” everyone can care about. Have you read The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian? He’s a terrific author and this book is centered around sex trafficking and clueless Americans.
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Thanks for the recommend Pam. I’ll most certainly read it.
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When you do, let me know what you think. Certainly unsettling…
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Oh, and here’s a good link to Chris’ page on this book and some research at the end…http://chrisbohjalian.com/the-guest-room/
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Bought a second-hand copy 🙂
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Thought to copy my comment on the earlier post here now ….Wow, Roy – it is absolutely heartbreaking, and I’m so glad you have written this novel since then. Great work to raise awareness. Here in BC, 2 days ago a big money laundering case that has gone for 2 years, just fell apart. So important to follow the money and get people behind this inhumanity and evil into jails. Keep up your own good works.
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What is horrifying to me Bruce is how uncaring people can be when there’s profit to be made. If a child can be sold into slavery for profit then the deal is done regardless of the misery and suffering. And we’re talking many millions slaves, and many of those are kids. The whole anti-money laundering industry has not touched the slave business, and no way it can while those involved in law enforcement will turn a blind eye for a little money.
It is frightening how close to savagery we are despite our trappings of civilisation.
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Roy – your last sentence reminds of when Gandhi was asked what he thought of “western Civilization.” His answer of course you know… “It would be a good idea.” In the amnesty international video you watched I was struck by the average age of girls sold into the Mumbai sex trade … fourteen! Though even if the average age was 16 or 18 or 20… the whole situation is horrifying. And it is equally horrifying that many so called up-standing people through out the world are benefiting from this.
Of course this whole business of wealth addiction, greed, and the sex industry, etc., is an age old problem. Thank you for awakening us to this terrible reality.
Change begins with small yet powerful voices.
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Ah you watched that docu Bruce? It was watched by a sizeable young audience over here so hopefully it raised awareness and concern. How could it not? Indeed, average age 14. I didn’t even stress that point in my novel to avoid possible exaggeration, but nothing is beyond these traffickers.
Indeed, Gandhi had it right.
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I’ve got my copy Roy, congratulations on the release.
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Thank you Andrea, that’s appreciated.
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