| 400 women, children being trafficked every month The rate of human trafficking, estimated at 400 per month, across the border is alarming, experts viewed at an workshop attributing the reason as lack of coordinated efforts of the law enforcing agencies. The workshop on Anti-Trafficking Interventions in South Asia was jointly organised(UNB, Dhaka) by Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) and Concern Universal in the city today where UNICEF report was quoted as saying 400 women and children are trafficked to Pakistan, India and Middle East per month. The lessons sharing workshop was supported by European Commission and Irish Aid. Ahsania Mission director Ehsanur Rahman, Major Maqshud of BDR, country director of Concern Universal Stephane Bonduelle and experts drawn from government and non-government organizations took part in the workshop. Major Maqshud of BDR that guards the border informed the workshop that they have rescued some 67 women, 15 girls and 17 teenage boys before they were trafficked across the border since the third week of February. This shows that mutiny in BDR headquarters did not hamper their vigilance all along the border. Vinoy Krisna Mallik, an activist of border district of Jessore, observed that representatives of the local bodies and influential persons have close link with human traffickers. Mamtaj Begum of Ulka Nari Sangathon said the government and NGOs should launch a vigorous awareness programme against the human traffickers exposing them how they allure women and young girls who finally end up brothels. A victim of human traffickers in 1997 Mamtaj narrated her bitter experience. She suggested government and NGOs should provide special loans to rehabilitate the trafficked women and children. Secretary Rokeya Sultana informed of a government plan to have a comprehensive policy to prevent trafficking and harassment of women. The task is completed and it will now be taken to the stakeholders before finalization. Multi-sector cooperation needs to prevent human trafficking, she added. Four papers were presented at the workshop giving at length the cause of women and young girls falling prey to traffickers and suggested measures to check human trafficking. http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=123580 |
__._,_.___
