Manpower agents or cheats?

Photo: Munir uz Zaman / driknews

Recently, the Honourable Prime Minister warned the predatory manpower exporters of serious action. The ineffectuality and hollowness of such warning has been delineated in the editorial of The Daily Star (May 22, 2010), which needs no further elaboration.
The foul play of the recruiting agents is the resultant culmination of many loophole factors. In almost every case, the recruiting agents get indulgence from the ruling elite. The law enforcing agencies also play a supportive role to embolden the culprits, perhaps in lieu of something!
While I worked as an employee in a recruiting agency for a few months, I experienced the sufferings of the poor people caused by the cheats, middlemen and rich recruiting agents. The recruiting agents used to deploy clever people from across the country who generally choose the poor who have some sorts of compulsion to earn more to support their family well. They have to pay the 'fees' or charges in advance, selling out their last resources at a minimal price.
Then begins the true story of harassment. Shifting of dates for flying abroad frequently takes place. Coming from the remote villages, it is difficult for the aspirants to pursue the mighty recruiting agents. If anybody asks his money back to the middlemen they would bring him to the recruiting agents. If agents cannot manage him coaxing and cajoling or threatening him, they will file a case of extortion, cheating or even dacoity against the poor job seeker.
While a case is registered, the police come into action with a greater velocity taking side with the rich recruiting agents. After a substantial time of imprisonment, the frustrated aspirant would give up hope and go back home empty handed.
Sometimes the recruiting agents would send the aspirant abroad with false passports, visas and other documents. Then also either the aspirant, skilled or unskilled, has to undergo a precarious life there or get imprisoned abroad or if he is lucky enough, comes back home to be arrested again by the police at the very threshold of the airport. This time they will be liable to be punished for making and procuring false passports, visas and tarnishing the image of the country abroad! For obvious reasons, again the recruiting agents remain out of the net.
Now, if the recruiting agents are to be punished at all, as the Honourable Prime Minister warned, can those responsible members of the law enforcers be brought to book? Probably not. And that's the saddest part of the endless drudgery!