Voyage to uncertainty

The engine-driven boats in Bay of Bengal near the coasts of Teknaf Upazila and St Martin island are seen as life-changers. Those desperate to cross over to Malaysia through the sea reach for these motor-propelled boats in ever greater numbers, lured by a network of human traffickers that seems to grow by the day. A long uncertain journey awaits them once they reach these watercraft. At the end of it, though, some find themselves scurrying for cover in jungles of Thailand. Bangladesh Navy ship 'BNS Durjoy' on Monday forced to stop a Malaysian flag-bearing trawler 50 nautical miles off St Martins under Teknaf Upazila of Cox’s Bazar. The naval officials detained more than 600 migrants on board the vessel. This was by far the single largest case of people being caught by Bangladesh’s security forces while trying to illegally migrate to Malaysia. Traffickers take these people to locations around Bangladesh-Myanmar sea border where Malaysian trawlers wait to take them to their own country, the officials said. The aspiring migrants try to reach the Bay of Bengal through the coasts at Sitakunda Upazila of Chittagong district, Kumira union, Chakaria, Maheshkhali, Ukhia and Ramu and Teknaf Upazilas of Cox’s Bazar district, Teknaf BGB 42 Battalion Commander Md Abu Zar Al Zahid said. They form small groups or have 25-30 people in them, all seeking to reach the trawler waiting in seas. ‘These vessels wait at the far end of our sea borders for nearly a month and start the passage once they are full,’ BGB, Coast Guard and Navy sources said, according to a news agency.