Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – More than one hundred deceived Bangladeshi job-seekers were rescued after being abducted from high seas and ferried into jungles of Thailand to be sold as what is being dubbed modern-day slaves.
The men were promised well-paid jobs abroad by brokers and were being ferried across the Bay of Bengal. On the way, they were “drugged, bound and kidnapped”.
The government authorities in Thailand said they were trying to fight the ‘slave trade’, but were accused of “dragging their heels” on the matter, the BBC reported.
On October 14, two Thai men were arrested on charges of human trafficking after 53 foreign workers were found on a rubber plantation in southern Thailand.
The group, hailed from Bangladesh and Myanmar, was traced on October 11.
Thai police are still looking for the gang leaders of the human traffickers.
The United States recently criticised Thailand for failing to combat trafficking in humans, particularly those in quest of jobs, for trading them out into bonded labour.
Since October 11 till 13, Thai police had rescued 116 Bangladeshis who were being trafficked abroad.
The victims alleged that they were unwilling to travel from Bangladesh. But they were kidnapped one by one by gangs and forced onto a fishing boat by human traffickers.
Such incidents of people being trafficked abroad on promises of plum jobs have taken an alarming proportion as a result of a virtual impasse in official manpower export.
A number of people have been killed and many others landed behind bars.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan said the government would take steps to bring back the Bangladeshis reportedly rescued after being abducted and shipped to Thailand to be sold as ‘slaves’.
The minister, however, noted that all of the rescued should not be considered as Bangladeshis just as they speak Bangla.
He said the fact that the rescued people speak Bangla does not ensure that they are Bangladeshis. “And it must be taken into account that many people from Myanmar are illegally migrating to foreign countries using Bangladeshi passport,” he added.
The state minister said if the identities of the rescued people are confirmed and their list is sent by the Thailand government, Bangladesh government will take the steps required to bring them back.
BBN/SSR/AD-18Oct14-9:18 pm (BST)
