Somy Ali on National Technology Day

Somy Ali on  National Technology Day: For someone who runs an NGO and works in the field rescuing victims with the help of police officers, FBI, technology is a huge plus

* Reporter
  
     Technology has revolutionized human existence. Today, we cannot possibly think of surviving without lights, fans, phones, vehicles and so on and so forth. National Technology Day on May 11 highlights the contribution of various stalwarts in the field of science and technology. Amid all the celebration and appreciation, one thing also comes into the fore is how we have been using technology. The point is, any sort of advancement becomes either a boon or bane depending on our usage. Somy Ali, who makes her comeback on screen with Fight or Flight, a docuseries, weighs in on the debate.
 “For someone who runs an NGO and works in the field rescuing victims with police officers and the FBI, technology has been a huge plus. Many social media platforms are used to recruit and sell young girls and boys under the guise of modelling ads or an ad like “are you looking for a massage?” These are all baits to for customers who engage in sex trafficking and the police and the FBI are able to track the IP addresses of those who click and book the minors. That’s when sting operations take place, and we are able to rescue these young girls and boys,” says the actor turned humanitarian, who now runs her NGO, No More Tears (NMT), in Miami.

  She continues, “Similarly, when it comes to domestic violence, victims are able to email NMT and other charities similar to NMT seeking help and we are able to go with cops to get victims out of the abusive situations after thorough vetting has been done which is our organization’s protocol. Cell phones are key to victims of any form of abuse as they can call for help and if brought to the U.S. from a different country, they can reach out to their family and inform them of their plight.”
 Moving on from the positive aspects of technology that she has been discussing now, Somy throws light on the darker side of it.  “There have been countless suicides amongst teenagers been bullied for their sexual orientation or the prevalence of body shaming. Or, just bullying for no reason is significantly prevalent on social media.  Not everyone who being sold for sex online gets rescued as the pimps use methods where their IP addresses are untraceable. So, it’s not a winning scenario by any means in totality, but it is better than going back to the days of no cell phone or the internet. The internet helps businesses reach the world and online shopping has become the norm. There are also online fundraisers which help NGO’s significantly. We can post a story about what a specific victim needs without disclosing his/her identity and get those items shipped to us for the victims,” she adds.

       Concluding, Somy says that there are both good and bad when it comes to technology. “But as an activist more good than bad given NMT has saved over 35,000 lives since its inception in 2007. And, while doing that technology has been the greatest help,” she ends.