155 more back from Myanmar

Myanmar yesterday sent 155 more trafficking victims back to Bangladesh, more than a month after rescuing them from a boat stranded at the Bay of Bengal.

The migrants were repatriated through the Ghumdum border in Bandarban following a flag meeting between the two border forces at Muangdaw immigration camp in Myanmar.

Among the returnees, 40 hail from Narayanganj, 25 from Sirajganj, 15 each from Madaripur and Jhenidah, 12 from Pabna, 11 from Chuadanga, 8 each from Jessore and Sunamganj, 6 from Magura, 5 from Comilla, 4 each from Kushtia and Joypurhat, and 2 from Satkhira.

With this, 342 trafficking victims have so far been repatriated from Myanmar. The batch of 155 returnees was among 528 people who were rescued by the Myanmar Navy, said a foreign ministry statement.

“The repatriation process is a clear manifestation of Bangladesh's commitment and seriousness in carrying out the repatriation of the verified Bangladeshis within the shortest possible time,” it said.

The 155 returnees were first taken to a temporary camp at Ghumdum High School by six buses. After lunch, they were handed over to Cox's Bazar police.

In order to verify their nationalities for the second time, police sent them to a temporary camp at the Cox's Bazar Cultural Centre, Shamol Kumar Nath, SP of the district, told The Daily Star.

“We will record their statements to know how they took the sea route illegally. They will be asked to give details of the traffickers,” the police official said.

He hoped that the victims would return to their homes today.

Around 2,000 Bangladeshis have been rescued in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar in the last two months after the issue of human trafficking through the Bay of Bengal got international media's attention.

Of them, more than 700 Bangladeshis returned home from those countries since June. Several thousand Bangladeshis, who had allegedly left home for jobs in Malaysia, still remain missing.