The citizens of Bangladesh are haunted by the sudden discovery of mass graves of the aspiring migrants to Malaysia. This has raised questions regarding the nexus between human trafficking and illegal immigration. This has also exposed the inability of the governments of Malaysia and Bangladesh to eliminate the crime of human trafficking and modern slavery.
 The latest UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) report on human trafficking only adds disgrace to the injury as far as public safety is concerned. Meanwhile, the criminals involved in such acts are carrying on with their 'maritime ventures' using helpless people from Bangladesh as scapegoats across the Bay of Bengal.
It seems that the state machinery is not serious enough to eradicate human trafficking. Law-enforcement agencies lack proper guidelines and resources to handle traffickers and smugglers off-shore while stories of gunfights with human traffickers in Cox's Bazar can also be heard.
 Meanwhile, diplomacy and pledges of regional collaboration have been proven inadequate. The manpower treaty with Malaysia has not been effective in curbing the malpractices of illegal immigration and human trafficking.
Our society tends to pretend to care for the poor victims with 'blame games', 'publicity stunts' and 'fake concerns'. Perhaps, it is best to find out the reasons that motivate people to join the traffickers and gamble with their own lives.
There is no doubt that the economic growth has been remarkable in the recent years and Bangladesh is just a few steps away from attaining the status of a 'middle-income country'. But, a huge segment of the rural population has no access to any viable source of income or social security. Their collective frustration motivates them to go overseas and human traffickers take the advantage. This problem could have been addressed had there been effective measures in place well in time.
Since the precondition for rural development is decentralisation of the national budget, the government should strengthen local bodies and encourage private investments in all the districts. The government should take up a strategy which can ensure that the rural areas are integrated into the existing job markets.
Law enforcement personnel should be given specialised training and resources to track down human traffickers. We must push the agenda further by involving society at large. New tools and means like the social media, cultural activities and governmental patronage are required to spread the message.
Human trafficking is a potentially dangerous evil in our society which threatens to destroy the very essence of peace and security in the rural areas. It is no less an evil than corruption, drug abuse and terrorism. It is high time we dealt with the curse of human trafficking once and for all.
nabil.dewan@gmail.com
Combating human trafficking
Nabil Azam Dewan | Published: May 14, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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