Can it be stopped?

Ample opportunity for jobs abroad, development of skilled manpower, appropriate wage hike at home, and implementation of the anti-human trafficking law could have saved thousands of poor Bangladeshis from the clutches of the human traffickers, say experts.    

Comparatively high cost of securing overseas jobs through proper channels, ignorance about due procedures for applying for such jobs, poverty, unemployment, and little knowledge about the peril of illegal sea voyage are among the reasons why people fall prey to human traffickers.

Of the issues, the one that needs urgent attention is implementation of the anti-trafficking law. The hurdles to enforcement of the law should be cleared immediately, according to experts.

To counter human trafficking, the government enacted the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act, 2012, but the rules and regulations required for its enforcement have yet to be formulated.

"None of the government agencies concerned is aware of their respective responsibilities under the counter-trafficking legislation as the rules are simply not there," said Khandoker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Then there is the shrinking of proper channels of migration.

"The opportunity for getting overseas jobs through the formal channel has shrunk significantly in the last several years. Taking the advantage, human trafficking gangs are ensnaring the job seekers," said Moazzem.

Government data showed that 1,32,000 Bangladeshis went to Saudi Arabia through legal channels in 2008, but the number came down to only 10,670 in 2014. Similarly, 131,400 people went to Malaysia with jobs in 2008, but the number dropped to just 5,134 in 2014.

The case is almost the same with Bangladesh's other major overseas job markets, including Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Another key factor is unemployment. Sluggish private sector investment, thanks to continuing political turmoil, has failed to generate sufficient local jobs, leaving many with no other choice than to board the traffickers' boats for a "better future abroad".

Bangladesh is a huge labour-surplus country and every year about 20 lakh fresh faces join the list of job seekers, showed data. On an average, the country has been achieving a 6 percent economic growth for the last decade, but it is yet to create adequate jobs for its citizens. Apparel sector has created jobs for around 45 lakh people, but mainly for women.

According to Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2013, at the end of that year country's total labour force stood at 6.07 crore, up from 5.67 crore recorded three years ago. Twenty-six lakh people were totally unemployed in 2013.

Around 45 percent of the workforce is engaged in the farm sector, which according to analysts does not offer high wages. Also, farmers often do not get due prices for their produce.

"Traffickers trick such people into taking the risky voyage, promising them highly-paid jobs abroad. Many people think finding such jobs in Bangladesh is impossible," said Prof Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of CPD.

He said upgrading skills of lower-income Bangladeshis and creating decent jobs for them could be quite handy in the fight against human trafficking, as the moves would certainly discourage the possible victims of trafficking from leaving the country illegally.

Zaid Bakht, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said around 40 percent of the 20 lakh youths who become eligible to enter the job market every year remains either unemployed or underemployed in the end. Political turmoil that began in 2013 has hurt investment further and shrunk fresh employment creation in the country, he said.

"Many of the youths, out of frustration, board the boats to go to Malaysia or Thailand, knowing that what they are doing is completely illegal and risky."

The economist also said the government needed to promote technical education for such people so that they could manage decent jobs even inside the country.

Migration expert Prof Tasneem Siddiqui said Bangladeshis had to spend more than Indians, Sri Lankans and Nepalese people to get legal jobs in overseas markets.

Quoting a last year's report of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit of Dhaka University, she said a Bangladeshi, on an average, spends around Tk 7 lakh for a job in Saudi Arabia while Tk 4.5 lakh for one in the UAE.

Bangladeshis mainly depend on local agents while Indians rely on their private management and Sri Lankans on registered recruiting agencies for overseas jobs, according to the research.

"Many Bangladeshis take the illegal journey as they can't pay such a hefty amount," Prof Tasneem said, adding, "Unfortunately, nothing has been done to cut the migration cost."

Owner of a manpower recruiting firm, wishing not to be named, has admitted that Bangladeshis were paying more than Indians and Nepalese people for going to other countries to work there.

"The huge gap between the demand and supply of Bangladeshi manpower is pushing the cost up," he explained.

For instance, he said his firm had got 4,000 Saudi Arabian work-visas last year. "But amazingly, 50,000 people applied for the jobs," he said.

"Many were offering us extra money to bag the foreign jobs, and who can ignore money?" he asked.

Prof Imtiaz Ahmed of Dhaka University's Department of International Relations alleged that some officials of Bangladeshi missions in the labour-recruiting countries themselves were involved with labour recruitment anomalies.

"Who will monitor the sector if the government itself is getting engaged in recruitment business?" he asked. The professor also questioned the government's "willingness" to try and punish human traffickers.

According to Binoy Krishna Mallick, executive director of human rights organisation Rights Jessore, some police personnel and politicians at the grassroots level are involved with human-trafficking rackets in some places.

"The culprits should be identified and punished if you really want to stop the crime." he said. From Jessore, many Bangladeshis were being trafficked to India, he claimed.

"The government should immediately bring back trafficking victims from detention camps abroad and ensure that they are rehabilitated," he added.

Senior economist Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said many Bangladeshis held a common misconception -- fortune changes only through foreign jobs.

"This attitude has to change," he said, adding human traffickers were misusing the delusion to net their preys.

Another issue that the authorities should address is the job seekers' little knowledge about the risks involved in illegal sea voyage. There should be programmes aimed at creating public awareness about the treacherous and illegal ways of migration, say experts.