Staff Reporter :A total of 150 Bangladeshi human trafficking victims, who were rescued by Myanmar navy on May 22, returned home broken on Monday afternoon.The repatriation process took place after a flag meeting between the border guards of the two countries yesterday at Dhekibania border point in Myanmar. “After the flag meeting between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Border Guard Police (BGP) of Myanmar, a total of 150 Bangladesh nationals were handed over to the country’s elite force,” Major Imran Ullah Sarker, second-in-command of BGB battalion 17 in Cox’s Bazar told The New Nation yesterday.The Myanmar BGP handed over them to the BGB on the no man’s land at about 2:00pm, he said, adding six buses carrying the Bangladeshi trafficking victims reached Cox’s Bazar at 3:00pm. According to BGB officials, out of the total 150 victims, some 55 are from Narsingdi district, 34 from Cox’s Bazar, 12 from Jhenidah, 10 from Bandarban, eight from Chittagong, five from Pabna, four from Chuadanga, four from Bagerhat, six from Brahmanbaria, four from Sunamganj, two from Narayanganj, three from Tangail, two from Jessore and one from Comilla. On May 21, Myanmar’s navy had rescued a migrant boat, bringing 208 human trafficking victims, including Bangladesh nationals to shore. “They (victims) were taken home in phases on Monday,” said Major Imran, adding, first they were taken to a temporary camp at the Tumbru Primary School premises in Bandarban from where they were taken to Cox’s Bazar Cultural Centre. Later, they were handed over to Cox’s Bazar police through the deputy commissioner of the district. After verification of their identity by police and completion of all legal procedures they will be handed over to their respective families, the BGB official said.Lt Col Saiful Alam Khandaker, commanding officer of BGB battalion 17 in Cox’s Bazaar, and Swo Mewing, deputy director of Myanmar Immigration department, led their respective delegations at the flag meeting that ended around 2:00pm in Dekibania of Myanmar.Later, Mohammad Khalequzzaman, BGB sector commander of Cox’s Bazar at a press conference yesterday said that all the Bangladeshis so far rescued in Myanmar would be brought back home.”In a very cordial meeting, Myanmar authorities have handed over a total of 150 Bangladesh nationals. The identities of the rest victims will be verified again to ensure whether they are Bangladesh nationals or not. If they are identified as Bangladesh nationals they will be brought back home soon,” the BGB sector commander of Cox’s Bazar told journalists. Swo Mewing thanked Bangladesh government and other international organisations for assisting the country in repatriating the trafficking victims.Initially, Myanmar authorities maintained that all the victims were “Bangladeshis”. “After the verification by Bangladesh’s foreign and home ministries, out of 208 some 150 have been identified as Bangladesh nationals,” Major Imran said, adding that the rest are believed to be Rohingyas.
