The New Nation - Internet Edition

Hasan Shaheed and Mamunur Rashid

Hundreds of Bangladeshis are being sent to the war-torn Iraq every month by fraudulent means by a group of local fake manpower recruiting agencies, according to sources close to the Task Force.

The unsuspecting poor migrant workers heading for the UAE, the largest manpower market for the Bangladeshis, land in the hot-bed of insurgency and get involved in acts of terrorism, like suicide bomb attacks and are dying in a inhospitable, distant land everyday.

Recently, a group of returnees from Iraq told the Task Force their gruesome stories. They said they knew they were going to UAE with work visa, but were eventually sent to Iraq without their consent.

A Task Force source said, every day hundreds of workers are sent to the gulf state with No Objection Certificate (NOC) obtained from the UAE embassy. Unscrupulous manpower businessmen make several copies of the NOC and change the names and passport numbers of the migrant workers electronically. Then they obtain clearance from the manpower ministry illegally and in league with various airlines including the Biman and the officials of the immigration department dispatch these hapless workers out of the country.

The source said they fly to the UAE for joining their dream jobs. As soon as they reach Dubai airport, cohorts of the fake recruiting agencies hand them fresh visas and air tickets.

They change aircraft and fly to other directions. They arrive in Kurdistan or any other part of Iraq. Other members of that group receive them at the airport. Most of the migrants begin work for one or two months and with the sound of bombs blasts and report of cannon fire they understand where they are. Back home no one knows his whereabouts, the source added.

The source said going to UAE with working visa needs Tk 1,80,000 to Tk 2,20,000 per person, but there are local fake manpower recruiting agencies that offers such a visa for Tk 1,20,000 to Tk 1,50,000 only.

The law enforcing agencies recently rounded up some of the members of such fake agencies and following their interrogation have disclosed this to the media.

Detective branches of Bangladesh suspect that a group of fake manpower recruiting agencies having high-level links at home and abroad were involved in this racket and they are contributing to destroying our manpower markets in the world, especially in the Middle East.

A member of the Task Force, who refused to be identified, said a number of detective branches with the Task Force were hunting for the Godfathers of the fake manpower business and hoped to arrest them in a short time.