Against the backdrop of rising human trafficking incidences from Bangladesh, implementation of the anti-trafficking law has now become a pressing priority. The hurdles to its enforcement need be cleared immediately in order to counter bizarre human trafficking occurring in the country and at abroad.
The government had, to mention, formulated the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act in 2012. It incorporated a number of provisions to protect and implement the rights of the human trafficking victims by ensuring safe migration. Yet surprisingly, the rules and regulations required for its enforcement are yet to be formulated. As such, none of the concerned government agencies is aware of its part of responsibilities under the anti-trafficking legislation; the rules are simply not there.
It is now evident that the opportunity for getting overseas jobs through formal channel has been shrinking significantly during the last several years. The Arabian Gulf countries, major destinations of the local job-seekers, are having some problems due to a steep fall in oil prices and also political disturbances. There is no appreciable demand for workers in the job markets elsewhere, except Malaysia.
Taking advantage of the situation, human trafficking gangs are engaged in luring the hapless job-seekers to take the risky voyage, promising them highly-paid jobs abroad. Many of the youths, out of frustration, board the boats to go to Malaysia or Thailand, knowingly or unknowingly that what they are doing is completely illegal and risky.
Incidentally, the Bangladeshis spend more than the Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals to get legal jobs in the overseas markets. A Bangladeshi, on an average, spends around Tk 0.7 million for a job in Saudi Arabia while Tk 0.45 million for one in the UAE. The Bangladeshis mainly depend on local agents while the Indians rely on their private management and the Lankans on registered recruiting agencies for overseas jobs.
Most of the concerned Bangladeshis take illegal journey as they are unable to pay such hefty amounts of money. Several attempts to cut the migration costs have not yielded any noticeable, positive result. The Bangladeshis are still paying more than the Indians and the Nepalese for going to work in other countries. The wide gap between the demand for, and supply of, the local workforce is pushing the cost up.
Allegations have it that a section of police personnel and politicians at the grassroots level are involved with human-trafficking rackets in some places. Thousands of poor Bangladeshis could have been saved from the clutches of the human traffickers, had there been ample opportunities for jobs, development of local skilled manpower and appropriate wage-hikes at home.
Meanwhile, comparatively high cost of securing overseas jobs through proper channels, ignorance about due procedures for applying for such jobs, poverty, unemployment, and little knowledge about the peril of illegal sea voyage are among the reasons why 'migrants' fall easy prey to human traffickers.
In order to address such issues, the government, recruiting agents and non-government organisations (NGOs) need to work together under a strategy to ensure safe and dignified employment opportunities abroad. Migrants' welfare must also be guaranteed for their contribution to the economy.
The government needs to give legal support to the migrants at their destination countries and to take appropriate steps for their rehabilitation while they come back home. Female migrants face hurdles including harassment and verbal, physical and sexual abuse at workplaces and the government must take effective measures to address such challenges.
Migrants, who return home after a certain period of time, are assumed to have acquired some skills. For that reason, it would be in the fitness of things for the government and the private sector to take initiatives to ensure some employment opportunities for them at home. The government is reported to have been preparing a database of the returnee migrants.
There is a need for thorough analysis and investigation as to what are the root causes of choosing risky routes by thousands of the Bangladeshis who ultimately end up in mass graves abroad, falling prey to the human traffickers. The factors that induce the manpower agents to engage themselves in this heinous job do also need to be clearly identified. Many migration analysts raise a question: Is it possible to get rid of this serious predicament, through only punishing the offenders severely?
The social factors and economic insolvency are the usual determining factors which propel the migrants to go abroad, even by illegal means. Lack of knowledge and dearth of information might be a reason which curtails their capability to bargain against the manpower agents to compel them for ensuring safe migration.
Unemployment remains undeniably a nagging problem. For reasons of sluggish investment activities in the private sector, generation of a sufficient number of jobs at home has become all the more difficult, forcing many, with no other choice, to board the traffickers' boats for a 'better future abroad'.
Upgrading skills of the lower-income Bangladeshis and creating decent jobs for a substantial number of them at home will surely help them fight against human traffickers; such moves will also certainly discourage the possible victims of trafficking from leaving the country illegally.
In order to ensure optimum benefits of the anti-trafficking law, the government needs to formulate rules and regulations speedily for their effective implementation. The concerted efforts of the government and the NGOs can go a long way towards redressing the sufferings of the trafficking victims.
Furthermore, a fund needs to be created immediately under the provisions of the Act to facilitate the local administration to extend effective help, to the victims of human trafficking, to the extent of their rescue and repatriation, as and when necessary.
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