Indo-Bangla move on faster repatriation, assimilation of trafficked children
Saturday, 21 March 2009
A Z M Anas
Momena's nightmare began when her stepmother forced her out of the rundown hovel in one chilly winter evening. As done in the past, she leaned on Jamila Begum, no relation to her, seeking refuge. Jamila, a long time acquaintance, lived in the same slum. "She (Jamila) gave me food, allowed me to share her small bed and promised me to alleviate my pains," Momena says. Aided by her husband, Jamila took the girl to a bus station and hopped into a bus at the very night as the female member of the trafficking squad plotted to cash in on the golden moment. They journeyed the whole night to reach a place unknown to the girl, then 11.
While the girl stepped into the world of uncertainty, the notorious couple saw her as their personal cash machine. Momena started getting worried when she was left in an "uncommonly silent" house and lived there as she huddled together with scores of girls. "Sometimes I was afraid. But the people bullied me not to cry and assured me of good job. Then I became loyal," she says.
After two unsuccessful attempts, she along with three others wagered her life on rigorous border patrol for the chance of a future in the Indian capital of New Delhi. New Delhi is a city that spins money, she was told. "I was promised to be employed at the house of a rich man. They will offer me a handsome amount of money," she recalls in a recent interview. The girl agreed to sneak into the Indian territory, hoping to find new life free from stepmother's pervasive persecution back in Dhaka.
Why Momena was trafficked is not difficult to understand, but her case represents a longstanding social woe that has been plaguing Bangladesh for decades.
Anti-trafficking campaigners say Bangladesh has remained one of major hotbeds in the global trafficking market, with human smugglers going increasingly innovative to operate, despite strong surveillance by law enforcement agencies at the border points.
Every month nearly 40 women and children are rescued from being trafficked to foreign countries, according to figures available with the Bangladesh police. The annual number of trafficking victims hovers between 200 and 250, police said.
They pointed out that the biggest number of victims end up in India, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Mauritius.
Bangladeshi Immigration officials say traffickers use 20 main points in the country's 16 western districts adjacent to the Indian border.
"But traffickers consistently change routes to escape the eyes of patrol forces. For example, they ferry out a child of Jessore area to the Hilly border or a Comilla child to Kaliganj or Bhomra points," an Immigration official, who is not authorised to speak to the media, said.
"They have clandestine stations on the Bangladesh border and also on the Indian side," he added.
But statistics provided by the New Delhi administration about the trafficked women and children is mostly inflated, and experts say the figures are often doctored to accelerate pushback of "Bangla-speaking" Indian citizens to Bangladesh.
While in India, Momena found the bustling city rather cruel. The milieu inside a residential hotel stoked horror amongst the girl. She screamed in fear. A boarder rushed to the scene and sensed what happened to the girl's life. The benevolent man went a step further and informed a local child rights group instead of police to rescue the girl.
Momena's fate was presumably pre-ordained, but fortune smiled upon the girl, now 13. She not only averted the perpetual sordidness of her life, but also won back the normalcy. Now she is living in a shelter run by a non-government group where she is getting education and life skills training.
Even though the Indian charity in question was friendlier to the victim, less so were the law and administrative procedures on both sides of the border. It took more than two years to complete the repatriation process of the Bangladeshi girl. It was a protracted legal battle, however.
Given the complexity, UNICEF, a UN body dedicated to the cause of world's children, has undertaken a groundbreaking initiative to simplify the process of bilateral repatriation of trafficking victims, establish uniform procedures and ensure the best possible care while under government or non-government cares.
UNICEF officials said they have already crafted a joint plan of action for rescue, recovery, repatriation and integration of child victims of trafficking between Bangladesh and India, pending approval from both sides.
"At present, the procedures are complex and time-consuming. Even procedures differ between states and countries as well. The countries need simpler and comprehensive, practical approach," said Shabnaz Zehereen, a UNICEF official.
She, however, maintained that repatriation should not undermine other priorities such as protection and community integration of victims.
"There are competing priorities. But we must reconcile. We shouldn't be engrossed with repatriation alone. Protection of the trafficked children at every stage must be given priority, shielding them from harm, abuse and re-trafficking," the UNICEF official said.
The Bangladesh Government appears to raise its regional profile in the fight against child trafficking as it has almost finalised the draft action plan.
Abdur Rouf, a deputy secretary with Bangladesh's Ministry of Home Affairs, said negotiations with the Indian side gained momentum and the approach has the potential to serve as an example for other countries.
"We want to change the parameters of our relations with India. This is just a stepping stone, you can call," said Mr Rouf.
"It's going to be a path-breaking step. The action plan can make a real difference to the rescue and recovery of child victims. More importantly, it will clear aside the way for integration of the victims in the society," he told this correspondent.
He is upbeat that if implemented, the joint action-plan would lower repatriation time to a record two weeks or so, instead of two to three years now it takes.
The Indian Government is also pursuing the matter seriously, although the inter-state formalities are holding back the whole process, Mr Rouf said.
Human rights lawyer Salma Ali said Dhaka and New Delhi should speed up the legal side of repatriation through specialised, fast-track courts to prevent child victims from being further traumatised.
"Court procedures must be child and women-friendly. Also we need to make sure legal process doesn't traumatise the child," Ali, who heads Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA), a non-government group, said.
She, however, warned that the implementation of the joint plan could be hobbled by the historic mistrust and political wrangling that characterise relations between the two neighbouring nations.
"If we want real, tangible progress on the issue, we must keep politics aside," the BNWLA chief said
She also underscored the need for integration of returned trafficked children into the society, saying policies, backed by community actions, would help facilitate unstinting assimilation of victims.
Trafficking of children is a stark reminder of how the social malady has gained root in the region. Momena may be fortunate to have dodged commercial sexual exploiters, others may not. Momena's message to the community is clear: Don't desert us.
As Momena says, "Family and society must wake up. Traffickers' dens need to be uprooted. We are the victims of society and the society should compensate for that." "Let us stay in the society with dignity."
--UNICEF/PID feature
Momena's nightmare began when her stepmother forced her out of the rundown hovel in one chilly winter evening. As done in the past, she leaned on Jamila Begum, no relation to her, seeking refuge. Jamila, a long time acquaintance, lived in the same slum. "She (Jamila) gave me food, allowed me to share her small bed and promised me to alleviate my pains," Momena says. Aided by her husband, Jamila took the girl to a bus station and hopped into a bus at the very night as the female member of the trafficking squad plotted to cash in on the golden moment. They journeyed the whole night to reach a place unknown to the girl, then 11.
While the girl stepped into the world of uncertainty, the notorious couple saw her as their personal cash machine. Momena started getting worried when she was left in an "uncommonly silent" house and lived there as she huddled together with scores of girls. "Sometimes I was afraid. But the people bullied me not to cry and assured me of good job. Then I became loyal," she says.
After two unsuccessful attempts, she along with three others wagered her life on rigorous border patrol for the chance of a future in the Indian capital of New Delhi. New Delhi is a city that spins money, she was told. "I was promised to be employed at the house of a rich man. They will offer me a handsome amount of money," she recalls in a recent interview. The girl agreed to sneak into the Indian territory, hoping to find new life free from stepmother's pervasive persecution back in Dhaka.
Why Momena was trafficked is not difficult to understand, but her case represents a longstanding social woe that has been plaguing Bangladesh for decades.
Anti-trafficking campaigners say Bangladesh has remained one of major hotbeds in the global trafficking market, with human smugglers going increasingly innovative to operate, despite strong surveillance by law enforcement agencies at the border points.
Every month nearly 40 women and children are rescued from being trafficked to foreign countries, according to figures available with the Bangladesh police. The annual number of trafficking victims hovers between 200 and 250, police said.
They pointed out that the biggest number of victims end up in India, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Mauritius.
Bangladeshi Immigration officials say traffickers use 20 main points in the country's 16 western districts adjacent to the Indian border.
"But traffickers consistently change routes to escape the eyes of patrol forces. For example, they ferry out a child of Jessore area to the Hilly border or a Comilla child to Kaliganj or Bhomra points," an Immigration official, who is not authorised to speak to the media, said.
"They have clandestine stations on the Bangladesh border and also on the Indian side," he added.
But statistics provided by the New Delhi administration about the trafficked women and children is mostly inflated, and experts say the figures are often doctored to accelerate pushback of "Bangla-speaking" Indian citizens to Bangladesh.
While in India, Momena found the bustling city rather cruel. The milieu inside a residential hotel stoked horror amongst the girl. She screamed in fear. A boarder rushed to the scene and sensed what happened to the girl's life. The benevolent man went a step further and informed a local child rights group instead of police to rescue the girl.
Momena's fate was presumably pre-ordained, but fortune smiled upon the girl, now 13. She not only averted the perpetual sordidness of her life, but also won back the normalcy. Now she is living in a shelter run by a non-government group where she is getting education and life skills training.
Even though the Indian charity in question was friendlier to the victim, less so were the law and administrative procedures on both sides of the border. It took more than two years to complete the repatriation process of the Bangladeshi girl. It was a protracted legal battle, however.
Given the complexity, UNICEF, a UN body dedicated to the cause of world's children, has undertaken a groundbreaking initiative to simplify the process of bilateral repatriation of trafficking victims, establish uniform procedures and ensure the best possible care while under government or non-government cares.
UNICEF officials said they have already crafted a joint plan of action for rescue, recovery, repatriation and integration of child victims of trafficking between Bangladesh and India, pending approval from both sides.
"At present, the procedures are complex and time-consuming. Even procedures differ between states and countries as well. The countries need simpler and comprehensive, practical approach," said Shabnaz Zehereen, a UNICEF official.
She, however, maintained that repatriation should not undermine other priorities such as protection and community integration of victims.
"There are competing priorities. But we must reconcile. We shouldn't be engrossed with repatriation alone. Protection of the trafficked children at every stage must be given priority, shielding them from harm, abuse and re-trafficking," the UNICEF official said.
The Bangladesh Government appears to raise its regional profile in the fight against child trafficking as it has almost finalised the draft action plan.
Abdur Rouf, a deputy secretary with Bangladesh's Ministry of Home Affairs, said negotiations with the Indian side gained momentum and the approach has the potential to serve as an example for other countries.
"We want to change the parameters of our relations with India. This is just a stepping stone, you can call," said Mr Rouf.
"It's going to be a path-breaking step. The action plan can make a real difference to the rescue and recovery of child victims. More importantly, it will clear aside the way for integration of the victims in the society," he told this correspondent.
He is upbeat that if implemented, the joint action-plan would lower repatriation time to a record two weeks or so, instead of two to three years now it takes.
The Indian Government is also pursuing the matter seriously, although the inter-state formalities are holding back the whole process, Mr Rouf said.
Human rights lawyer Salma Ali said Dhaka and New Delhi should speed up the legal side of repatriation through specialised, fast-track courts to prevent child victims from being further traumatised.
"Court procedures must be child and women-friendly. Also we need to make sure legal process doesn't traumatise the child," Ali, who heads Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA), a non-government group, said.
She, however, warned that the implementation of the joint plan could be hobbled by the historic mistrust and political wrangling that characterise relations between the two neighbouring nations.
"If we want real, tangible progress on the issue, we must keep politics aside," the BNWLA chief said
She also underscored the need for integration of returned trafficked children into the society, saying policies, backed by community actions, would help facilitate unstinting assimilation of victims.
Trafficking of children is a stark reminder of how the social malady has gained root in the region. Momena may be fortunate to have dodged commercial sexual exploiters, others may not. Momena's message to the community is clear: Don't desert us.
As Momena says, "Family and society must wake up. Traffickers' dens need to be uprooted. We are the victims of society and the society should compensate for that." "Let us stay in the society with dignity."
--UNICEF/PID feature