Human Trafficking Is Not Stopping!

In the last month, 529 Bangladeshis who had migrated to different countries of Europe via the Mediterranean have been rescued. Of these, 443 were rescued from Tunisia and 76 from Libya.

Concerned Authorities said that the Tunisian Coast Guard rescued 36 people from crossing the Mediterranean to Italy on May 18, 243 on May 27 and 28 and 164 on June 10. Last month, Libyan anti-immigration (DCIM) officials rescued 86 Bangladeshis from their captors in the Algerian border town of Darras. They were captured by kidnappers on their way to the Mediterranean via Benghazi.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 813 migrants died in the Mediterranean between January 1 and June 12 this year. With the help of this organization, 160 Bangladeshis returned to the country last May. Moreover, 2,900 Bangladeshis rescued from the Mediterranean since 2015 have returned to the country from Libya with the help of IOM.

The Mediterranean is the riskiest route for human trafficking in various European countries. The rescue of citizens of various countries from the Mediterranean on the coast of Tunisia is constantly happening. While going here, many drowned in the sea, some were caught by the police and tortured, while others fell into the clutches of the kidnappers. Even then, the tendency of Bangladeshis to reach Europe by crossing this dangerous path is not stopping.

The Tunisian Coast Guard rescued 36 Bangladeshis, including Alamin, from a wooden boat floating in the Mediterranean on May 18. He saw his uncle sink in the sea on a dangerous journey to Italy via Libya. He himself somehow survived death. Yet he does not want to return to the country.

Al-Amin said, ‘I have borrowed a lot to go to Italy. But I could not go. If I can't go, how can I repay the loan? '

Sohail Rana, who has been in Libya for more than two years hoping to go to Italy, said he boarded a boat to go to Italy on a contract worth Tk 200,000 and now is working in Tunisia. But he does not want to return to Bangladesh.

Using a Mediterranean route is not the only human trafficking route. According to the Bangladesh Police and the United Nations, human trafficking from Bangladesh takes place every year in India, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Thailand, Malaysia, and other countries of the world. Most of them are women and children.

Police have tracked down an international woman trafficking ring after a video of a Bangladeshi girl being tortured went viral on social media in India recently. In 2015, 139 mass graves, including 28 abandoned concentration camps, were found in a mountainous forest bordering Thailand in northern Malaysia. Later mass graves were also found in Malaysia. A torture camp was also found. The bodies of hundreds of Bangladeshi nationals smuggled by sea as well as Rohingya nationals of Myanmar have also been buried in the mass graves.

That year, the government repatriated 175 victims of human trafficking from those two countries and Indonesia. They filed three cases with the airport police. The trafficking ring has been convicted in a trial in Thailand. Justice is still pending in Bangladesh. Only six were arrested in that matter.

Although there is a case in these cases, the investigation does not proceed. A high-ranking police source said that since the enactment of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act in 2012, 9,692 people have been arrested in about 6,000 cases till last December. And since 2014, only 54 people have been convicted. The rate of case settlement is very low.

Many of those involved say that in human trafficking cases, arrests are made primarily by early-stage dealers, usually those who are known or neighbors of the victim. Many accused were acquitted due to a lack of investigation.

Another major problem in such cases is the failure of the police to produce witnesses in court. Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu said there were no regular witnesses in the cases of human trafficking.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police works to prevent human trafficking. CID Additional Inspector General (DIG) Imtiaz Ahmed said the main part of the human trafficking ring is outside of the country. Some brokers work locally. In many cases, victims do not provide information.

Shahdin Malik, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, said it was difficult to prove such cases without the help of victims. Moreover, if the punishment is increased, the burden of proof becomes heavier. If we want to increase the example of punishment, the law will have to be reformed.

Tasnim Siddiqui, chairperson of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), a private research firm on immigration, said traffickers share money with many. It will take the political will of the government to stop it.

Human trafficking is one of the biggest problems in the country. But analysts say the government is not paying enough attention to the issue. Although some small portions were caught in the raid, the main culprits remained out of reach. Human trafficking cannot be stopped due to lax law enforcement.

Every year a significant number of people migrate to various countries of the world in search of better life or employment. Human traffickers are trapping them into the lure of lucrative jobs and opportunities. Awareness needs to be raised among the general public to protect against fraud, say those concerned. In addition, steps must be taken to repatriate the rescued Bangladeshi citizens from Tunisia and Libya quickly and safely.