5 Bangladeshi human trafficking victims return from Algeria
Five Bangladeshi nationals who fell victim to human trafficking and endured brutal torture in captivity have returned home from Algeria.
The victims — Mostakim Sarkar from Dhaka, Mozammel Haque from Sherpur, Jihad Fakir, Roman Hawlader, and Yasin Hawlader from Madaripur — arrived at the capital's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 5:30am today on a Turkish Airlines flight, according to a press release.
The victims, recounting their ordeal, stated that they were lured by traffickers with promises of a better future in Europe but ended up trapped in Libya. There, they were held captive by a mafia-led trafficking ring, subjected to brutal torture, and forced to call their families for ransom money.
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Once the payments were made, they were placed on a boat bound for Italy, only for the vessel to break down at sea. They were eventually rescued by the Tunisian Coast Guard and later imprisoned in Algeria for illegal entry, as per the statement.
They were finally repatriated with the help of the Wage Earners' Welfare Board under the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, the Bangladesh Embassy in Algeria, and Brac.
"These individuals suffered extreme abuse in their attempt to reach Europe. We have always extended our support to Brac's initiatives in bringing trafficking victims home," said Inspector Shah Alam Mridha of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) at the airport.
One of the returnees, Madaripur's Yasin Hawlader, said, "I was held captive by the Libyan mafia. My family borrowed money, mortgaged land, and took loans to pay my ransom, altogether Tk25.8 lakh. Now we have nothing left."
Aziz Ahmed, senior manager of Brac's Migration Programme, said, "For this repatriation, we collaborated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Wage Earners' Welfare Board, and the US-based Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Hero Network. Last October, we repatriated eight more trafficking survivors with the help of TIP."
Brac's Migration Welfare Centre has been providing emergency assistance to returning migrants for the past eight years, supporting over 35,000 individuals.
In 2024 alone, 40 migrants were rescued from various countries.
Shariful Hasan, associate director of Brac's Migration Programme, highlighted the growing human trafficking crisis.
"Traffickers lure victims with false promises of jobs in Libya, only to detain and torture them for ransom. Despite repeated tragedies, the trend of attempting to cross the Mediterranean for Europe continues. Raising awareness and targeting traffickers, especially tracking financial transactions, are crucial to combating this crisis," he said.
