Voyage to Malaysia by sea: Rohingya enticed by traffickers with false promises of employment and marriage

A young Rohingya woman living with her family under a tarpaulin roof at Balukhali Camp-9 in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, was recently caught in a human trafficking operation. On the night of 3 April, she married a young man in Malaysia via mobile phone. Two days later, on 5 April, she was handed over to a broker with the aim of joining her husband. She was taken to a house on the Kachhapia hill in Baharchhara, Teknaf, along with other Rohingya women.

Late Monday night, the women were led to a trawler from Kachhapia beach. The vessel, carrying 214 passengers, was intercepted by the Bangladesh Navy in the Bay of Bengal, west of Saint Martin Island, on Tuesday afternoon.

By Wednesday morning, all passengers, including the young woman, were handed over to Teknaf police. In conversations with Prothom Alo, many of the rescued victims revealed that they had been deceived by traffickers with false promises of employment and marriage. The young woman said her family had been living in the refugee camp for over seven and a half years. She and her family paid Tk 50,000 to board the boat, unaware of the risks. It was only after being rescued that she realized the journey had been a grave mistake.

A press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that the Navy ship Durjoy seized the fishing trawler FB Kulsuma 44 nautical miles southwest of Saint Martin Island. On board were 118 men, 68 women, and 28 children. The boat lacked essential safety gear, food, and water, and had departed from Shaplapur beach in Teknaf on the night of 7 April.

According to Lt. Commander Salahuddin Rashid Tanvir of the Teknaf Coast Guard, the 214 passengers were brought ashore at Shah Porir Dwip jetty and handed over to police. RRRC Mohammad Mizanur Rahman confirmed that 12 of the detainees were found to be involved in criminal activities and legal proceedings are underway. The others were returned to their respective camps.

Among the rescued was a driver from Ukhiya's Kotbazar area, who recounted being abducted at gunpoint on 2 April while driving his auto-rickshaw. He was taken to Kachhapia hill and detained for four days with others before being forced onto the trawler on 7 April.

Sub-inspector Helal Uddin of Shah Porir Dwip police outpost said traffickers had promised victims jobs and arranged mobile phone marriages to lure them. Each person paid between Tk 30,000 and Tk 50,000. Organized trafficking networks smuggled victims out of the camps, transported them in vehicles, and eventually placed them on boats destined for Malaysia via Thailand, crossing Myanmar’s maritime border.