Bangladesh arrests human
traffickers after migrants’ murder in Libya
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| Illegal immigrants at a detention centre in Libya (AFP) |
30 illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Africa were
massacred by human traffickers in Libya on May 28. These migrants were
exploited by local traffickers.
By Vatican News
Bangladesh police have arrested more than 50 people accused
of extorting money from people on false promises of jobs overseas, in a major
crackdown on human trafficking after 30 migrant workers were murdered in Libya.
According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported, the
series of arrests began after the migrants, including 26 Bangladeshis, were
abducted and killed by traffickers in the strife-torn north African nation, at
the end of May.
The carnage
The group of 42 migrants, including 38 Bangladeshis, was
held captive in a trafficking warehouse in Mizdah, around 180 kilometres from
the Libyan capital Tripoli, the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya said, quoting one
of the survivors of the carnage.
The survivor said that they had paid between $8,000 and
$10,000 to the traffickers to reach Europe through Libya. However, as the
trafficking gang began torturing them to extort more money, the hostages
attacked and killed one of the traffickers. In retaliation, the gang
opened fire on them killing 30 and injuring 12.
The Libyan government has issued arrest warrants for
suspects following the deaths.
Bangladesh arrests
The arrests in Bangladesh were mostly made in Dhaka, the
capital, and included a ringleader who sent about 400 Bangladeshis to Libya
illegally in the last decade, police said.
"(Arresting traffickers) is a part of the regular duty
of Bangladesh Police but obviously this is the strongest operation against
traffickers in recent times," Sohel Rana, spokesman of the Bangladesh
Police said on Friday.
He said most of the accused were being charged under a 2012
law that criminalized trafficking in Bangladesh with penalties ranging from
five years to life imprisonment.
Last week, Dhaka Tribune daily newspaper reported the arrest
of as many as 52 suspected human traffickers responsible for sending the
Bangladeshis who were killed in Libya. One of them who lived in Libya for 13
years is said to be the owner of 2 trafficking camps in the African country.
According to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, more
than 2 million illegal migrants from different Asian and African countries have
entered Europe through the Mediterranean Sea since 2014.
Bangladesh depends heavily on remittances
Bangladesh is one of the world's largest exporters of labour
and depends heavily on money sent home by its overseas workers. More than 10
million migrants sent $18.32 billion to Bangladesh in 2019, the third highest
recipient of remittance in South Asia.
International remittances, which normally represent around
7% of Bangladesh’s GDP, are the nation's second-largest source of foreign
earnings after its massive garments industry.
According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training
(BMET), in 2019 alone, over 700,000 migrant workers left the country in search
of employment abroad and over 73 percent of remittances were sent from the 7
Gulf Cooperation Council countries alone.
Exploitation by brokers
However, unlicensed brokers are known to charge workers
thousands of dollars with promises of good jobs abroad that don't exist.
Campaigners say that the country's dependency on unofficial brokers for
recruitment opens the path to exploitation.
The United Nations' International Organization for
Migration(IOM) estimates there are about 21,000 Bangladeshi migrants in Libya,
accounting for about 3% of the migrant population.
The IOM said migrants from Bangladesh reported the highest
costs of journey to travel to Libya in comparison to migrants from other
countries, who pay on average $3,200 per person.
Low conviction rate
While the police said progress is being made, some human
rights activists voiced concerned that many of those arrested this month may
walk free due to the country's low conviction rate for trafficking crimes.
The rate of convictions in Bangladesh was 0.4% between
2013-2019, according to the U.S. Trafficking in Persons report.
Tariqul Islam, country director for the anti-trafficking
charity Justice and Care, said there needed to be more coordination between the
investigating authority and the prosecutor to build strong cases against
criminals.
The Church with people on the move
The Holy See and Pope Francis have been vigorously
advocating the rights, dignity and safety of migrants and refugees as the
Church accompanies them in all stages of their journey. To this end, the
Vatican has a special Migrants and Refugees Section, and the Catholic Church
worldwide celebrates its own World Migrant and Refugee Day on the last Sunday
of September.
Pope Francis on Sunday asked Catholics to join him in
praying for a renewed and effective commitment to protect refugees and
migrants. Recalling the United Nations World Refugee Day celebrated on the
previous day, June 20, he appealed for respect and care for displaced persons,
especially during the current Covid-19 pandemic. (Source: Thomson Reuters
Foundation)
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