THE Myanmar Border Guards handed 150 trafficking victims over to Bangladesh through Ghumdhum border point as reported by The New Nation on Monday. The Myanmar authorities had earlier rescued a total of 208 boatpeople from the sea on way to Malaysia. But following the verification of their identity, only 150 victims turned out to be Bangladeshi nationals and they have been repatriated, said local BGB commander posted at Cox’s Bazar area. The remaining persons are believed to be Rohingyas. But as the repatriation of the victims now starts, the question of their rehabilitation also comes to the fore. This is because they are not only penniless but also totally devastated and need humane handing free from fear and harassment. It is reported that there are 727 more rescued victims in Myanmar custody and the Bangladesh officials working with the repatriation process said they would be similarly repatriated through verification of their nationality.
But the issue here is not only to accept the repatriated victims of the inhuman trafficking; it is how to stop such tragedy to happen again by destroying the trafficking syndicates, besides ensuring their rehabilitation from a highly traumatized life. Destroying the traffickers syndicates must be on the top but any credible action is yet to come from the government. A news report on Tuesday said traffickers are air lifting the migrants now using Nepal as a third country, apart from using Bangladesh sea line. Moreover, there is a consensus that the repatriated victims – men, women and children – must be given the feeling that they are quite secured from any harassment by law enforcers under questioning for why they left the country this way as the government feels they have tarnished the image of the country by their act.
In fact the root cause of their desperate act was poverty; which they wanted to overcome by working in Malaysia. Trafficking agents lured them to end up dying in jungles and sea. It is advisable that the government and private organizations including international bodies must take up separate plans to create jobs for these unskilled people or offer small capital to start micro-businesses locally to make a living. The government may also quickly remove all impediments to easy manpower export to Malaysia, the country where these people wanted to go to work in plantation, construction and manufacturing.
Improving rural economic infrastructures may also create huge jobs for these unskilled people fighting against poverty. The government should also open training facilities for rural youth so that they may become fit for a low paid job in global market.
Meanwhile, those who tried to go abroad to save themselves from the deprivation of joblessness within the country and became victims must not be harassed by our government. The government has to accept the poverty situation in the country and responsibility to create jobs for the jobless ones. Besides the government’s failure to stop the human trafficking from Bangladesh should be accepted by the government. Without cooperation of the officials human trafficking could not reach such massive scale.
