"I do not know whether I will be able to make it alive. Please get me back home. Otherwise, I may die." These were the last words of Rahmat Ali to his wife before communication was cut off with him. Rahmat, hailing from Natore, along with his brother-in-law Humayun Kabir, embarked on a journey to Europe with the hope of improving their financial conditions. They mortgaged lands, sold jewelleries, and took out a loan to pay Tk 18 lakh to a local agent. With a promised monthly salary of Tk 2.5 lakh, the men were first taken to Saudi Arabia and later "sold off" to Russia. There, Kabir and Rahmat were forced to take a 15-day military training and join the battlefield. Sadly, Kabir lost his life on January 26 this year in a drone strike. 

In another instance, a similar fate awaited Akram Hossain and Sohan Mia from Narsingdi. The brothers, under the false promise of the job of a cook or gardener, were sold as war slaves in Russia. Each of them had to pay around Tk 8 lakh to the agency for the jobs, but were later told that they were going to get Umrah visa to go to Saudi Arabia, and from there Russian work permit would be given. However, they got a one-month travel pass instead. Upon reaching the airport in Saint Petersburg, their mobile phones and documents were confiscated. The brothers were tortured, brutally beaten up, threatened, and ultimately forced to join the war. Fortunately, Akram managed to flee to Bangladesh, but Sohan was not lucky enough and was stuck in the combat field. Keraniganj's Aminul Islam, Jashore's Zafar Hossain, and Narsingdi's Mobarak Hossain, along with other victims, had similar experiences of being defrauded and forced to take up arms after month-long combat training.

An investigative report revealed that at least 18 Bangladeshi migrants were deceived and sent to Russia only to join the armed forces and fight on the battle front. Some died, many remain missing, while some were severely injured. One such individual is Rajbari's Arman Mondal, who was wounded in a mine blast. He, too, was first sent to Saudi Arabia with an Umrah visa and later handed over to a Russian syndicate. After 30 days of rigorous training, Arman was deployed on the warfront against his will. The agency had promised him a gardening or cooking job at a Russian cantonment, and he was also promised a 10-year work visa. In reality, the agency tricked him and provided a month-long tourist visa only. 

Media reports show that a number of these workers hoped to go to Europe but were rerouted to Russia and deceived into joining the military. The ones who wanted to go to Russia directly had to pay Tk 7-8 lakh, while those planning to go to other European countries paid a staggering amount of Tk 15-18 lakh. Almost all of them were promised jobs with good salaries. Considering their economic condition, the victims were not able to deny such lucrative offers and walked into the trap set by the perpetrators. In the majority of these cases, an agency named Dream Home Travels is alleged to be the mastermind behind the trafficking ring. Close ones of the victims have been trying to contact the owner of the agency, but their office has since remained locked. After an investigation by the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, it was confirmed that the agency in question was not a registered recruiting agency but a travel agency. The ministry assured that action was being taken against them and also issued an awareness notice based on this incident, urging aspirant migrant workers to be more careful before accepting a job offer abroad. One of the perpetrators, Tamanna Zerin, was arrested by the CID from the airport on her way to Nepal on February 6. The rest of the accused remain unreachable.

Turning innocent aspirant migrants into war slaves impacts the workers and their family members physically, mentally, and financially. The relatives of the victims, whose whereabouts remained unknown until now, have appealed to get their loved ones back. They have also demanded exemplary punishment of those engaged in human trafficking. It is evident that syndicates both in Bangladesh and the destination country are jointly operating this trafficking ring. The Bangladesh government must take immediate steps to address the pleas of the affected migrants fighting in the Russian-Ukrainian war zone and ensure their safe return to their motherland. Experts suggest that the Ministry of Home Affairs should take stern action against the travel agencies involved. Also, identifying the local agents and similar agencies is necessary to prevent this heinous crime.

Mohammad Inzamul Haque is project manager at Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU).

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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