Desperate bid for a better life

All of them had different stories of unending misery. Desperate to escape suffocating conditions, they risked their lives by boarding a small wooden fishing trawler for a perilous sea journey from Bangladesh to Malaysia -- without any travel documents.

Many had given only verbal consent or a small sum to secure the journey. Later, traffickers extracted more money -- either by selling the passengers to other trafficking networks or by holding them hostage and extorting money from their families. Torture was also used as a tool to break their will.

Despite knowing the risks, many still chose to board the vessel. Some did so hoping for a better life, others to reunite with family members in Malaysia. Several young women were en route to marry Rohingya men already living there.

The vessel, named FV Kulsuma, was carrying 221 passengers when it was intercepted by the Bangladesh Navy in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday. Of the rescued, 167 were Rohingyas, 42 were Bangladeshi nationals, and the remaining 12 were brokers and crew members, according to sources.

Among the passengers was a young Rohingya girl who had been living with her family under a tarpaulin shelter at Balukhali Camp-9 in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar. On the night of April 3, she was married over the phone to a Rohingya man residing in Malaysia. The following morning, she was handed over to a broker for the journey. She was kept with several other women in a house on a hill in Baharchhara's Kochhopia area in Teknaf.

Traffickers had lured them with promises of good jobs and suitable husbands. Her parents agreed to the marriage after being convinced by the broker that the man in Malaysia was a good match. Though she had never met her husband, she agreed to travel based on his advice. Her family spent around Tk 50,000 up to the point she boarded the boat.

Zahed Hossain, a Rohingya man, said he was frustrated due to the lack of work in the camp. When a broker offered him the chance to go to Malaysia, he accepted, with the understanding that his relatives would repay the cost after his arrival. He initially paid nothing. After boarding the boat, he discovered he had been sold for Tk 20,000. He suspected that the traffickers planned to hold him hostage and demand ransom.

Zahed said he was taken from the beach area of Kochhopia late Monday night and placed on the trawler.

According to passengers and law enforcement officials, traffickers typically charge Tk 3 to 4 lakh per person for the illegal sea voyage to Malaysia.

Md Imran, a resident of Kallyanpara in Teknaf, said he was introduced to a broker on Facebook. Tempted by the promises, he left home on Sunday. He was first taken to a remote hill area in Teknaf and kept with many others. On Monday night, they were taken to the coast at Noakhali Para in Teknaf and boarded a small boat, which carried them on a 50-minute sea journey before transferring them to the trawler. This process continued as other passengers arrived in similar fashion.

"Food was given only once in three days. Over 200 people were crammed into the boat. The brokers and crew forced many passengers into the closed lower deck, where it was hard to breathe. Some who resisted were beaten. There was a severe food shortage," he added.

Imran had packed 12 litres of water, pickles and dry food before leaving home. The traffickers had promised they would reach Malaysia by Friday, having departed on Monday.

According to Cox's Bazar district police, the Coast Guard has filed a case over the incident. The victims were handed over to their families.

Those arrested from the trawler include Russell, Jasim, Saiful Islam, Dholu Mia and Imam Hossain of Baharchhara in Teknaf, as well as Alam, Omar Foysal, Mohib Ullah, Rafique, Arif, Johar and Selim Ullah from Jamtoli camp in Cox's Bazar.

The accused who remain on the run include Jasim, Saiful Alam, Abdul Ali, Abdul Karim, Sabbir Ahmed and Sabua of Baharchhara in Teknaf, and Mulluk of Ramu. Mulluk is the owner of the boat.