Bangladesh not in US trafficking list

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From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, June 13: US State Department's annual report on Human Trafficking released yesterday hopefully did not have the name of Bangladesh in the list of the offenders. The list have the names of the countries with the worst records of preventing people from being sold into sex trade and servitude.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar have been included in the list of the offenders. In the list of the countries with the lowest ranking are Malaysia, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan ,Syria and Venezuela. The countries have 90 days to improve their records or face sanctions including loss of American aid and support for loans from the World Bank and the IMF.
Most of listed countries like Malaysia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela are self reliant and do not require any external financial assistance.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal today carried a very lengthy and exhaustive report on an American priest who is working with the Garos in the Modhupur forest for past half a century. The priest Eugene Homrich is living with Garos for past 50 years and has founded schools and clinics in the area. He weathered the stormy days of the war of liberation in 1971. But now Father Homrich is confronting the forest department officials and preventing them from illegal logging of the Madhupur forest. Priest Homrich has become the de facto leader of the 20,000 tribe members. He is turning 79.
The caretaker government would do well to intervene and assist the American priest who is rendering yeoman services to the local people. The Garos are facing torture by the officials of the forest department. Father Homrich says Garos have no future in Bangladesh. Unless the government steps in immediately, it could become a big international scandal.