Rescue of trafficked Bangladeshis

THE rescue of some 576 people from a cargo trawler near St. Martin's Island on Monday is a case of successfully foiling the human traffickers' bid to illegally smuggle Bangladeshi citizens out of the country, thanks to Bangladesh Navy.  The rescued people informed that they were bound for Malaysia where they would be provided with job, so had promised their captors.  In fact, this is yet another instance of intercepting the traffickers who have since long been engaged in luring gullible job-seekers as well as forcing,  even kidnapping them into their trap before  holding them hostage for ransom. Evidently, this latest incident only points to the surge in the smugglers' activities along the coastal regions of Bangladesh.

We may recall here that last June some 300 Bangladeshis were rescued under similar circumstances from a trawler close to St. Martin's Island by Bangladesh Coast Guard.  These incidents speak not only of how infested are our coastal areas and the sea is with human traffickers, but also of the spread of their tentacles all across Bangladesh.

One cannot but point out, however, that it was a sheer stroke of luck that the navy officials discovered the traffickers' trawler which was like a speck in the vast sea. One wonders how many more such traffickers' vessels have already got away with their human cargo unnoticed by our Coast Guard and the navy. How are we to face this huge challenge?

The law-enforcers must mount their vigilance to bust the human traffickers' network. At the same time, the government and the community need to instill awareness in job seekers about the risks involved in such misadventure.