Trafficking survivors, others return home to Bangladesh

In a significant move, 19 Bangladeshi nationals, including minors, were sent back to their home through Integrated Check Post (ICP) Petrapole in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal on Tuesday.

While some of them were living in childcare centres in India, others were staying at state-run shelters for women. Many of them were trafficking survivors.

“There was euphoria and relief as they crossed the international border with travel documents issued by the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata. Their family members were waiting on the other side of the border to receive them. It was certainly a touching moment. Many of them were languishing at state-run shelter homes in India for a long time,” an official, who was present during the crossover, said.

Among those repatriated was Zarina (name changed), a young woman who had been trafficked across the border and sold to those involved in the illegal sex trade in Delhi. After facing sexual abuse for months, she managed to flee her captors and reach Kolkata. She was rescued and put up at a home meant for such women who have faced trauma.

“She was mentally unstable by then and still believed that the man she had met over a social media App would arrive and marry her. It took several months for her to regain her sanity and realise that she had been trafficked. During this while, the Delhi Police and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs took notice and some people were arrested. We spoke to her on over 45 occasions to learn about her address in Bangladesh. Finally, we managed to trace her home to Narayangunj in Bangladesh. We got in touch with her mother and got her connected with Zarina over video call. The repatriation process started after that,” said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary, West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC), an organisation of Amateur Radio Operators.

Zarina’s mother and other relatives were waiting as she crossed over from India. Before that, when she left her shelter in India to proceed to Petrapole, she waved goodbye to those who had stood by her and thanked the administration as well as WBRC for reuniting her with her family across the border.