Return too complicated

The repatriation of Bangladeshis rescued recently in Thailand after they were trafficked into that country to be sold as slaves may take at least three months. 

“My heart is aching to go home,” said Absar Mia, 27, father of three children, from Teknaf of Cox's Bazar.

He is now staying at a Thai detention centre with others, mostly Bangladeshis and some Myanmar nationals.

"All I think about is how I can get home, how I can see my mother again, how I can see my little boys and girl again. That's why I'm crying," Absar told BBC, echoing the plea of other victims of trafficking.

However, before their repatriation, their nationalities have to be determined and the whole process will require some three months, said Ehteshamul Haque, counsellor at Bangladesh embassy in Thailand. 

The embassy has already sought permission from the Thai foreign ministry for taking the victims' statements that will be verified by the home ministry in Bangladesh, he told The Daily Star by phone. 

The time of repatriation depends on how fast the Bangladesh police can verify the information given by the detained nationals and report to the embassy so that it can arrange their return, Ehteshamul added.

According to the embassy officials, some 400 Bangladeshis are languishing in different detention centres in the Southeast Asian country.

The embassy sends the statements of the detainees to the foreign ministry that then passes those to the home ministry. The home ministry asks the police of the districts concerned to verify the information. 

Currently, the home ministry is overseeing the verification of information given by 253 self-claimed Bangladeshis held at different detention centres in Thailand.

“We have completed the procedure for 213 detainees till August. Of them, six or seven were found to be non-Bangladeshis. They might be Rohingyas,” said an official of the home ministry yesterday.

Sometimes confusion arises over detainees' nationalities when Rohingyas identify themsel ves as Bangladeshis, Ehteshamul said.

Binoy Krishna Mallick, executive director of Rights Jessore that works for victims of trafficking, said the repatriation from Thailand of such victims had taken longer time. 

Promptness of the Bangladesh embassy officials, foreign ministry and home ministry are important in this regard, he said.

“This, however, does not happen,” Mallick told The Daily Star.