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How the unrest in Bangladesh has impacted our work
August 14, 2024
Tariqul Islam, Justice and Care’s Country Director in Bangladesh, shares an update on our work amid an unprecedented political time in Bangladesh.
Recent weeks in Bangladesh have been historic as student protests erupted and the unrest that followed cost hundreds of lives – but brought about change and with it a country’s hope that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago.
What began as opposition against job quotas in the civil service became a full blown Government crisis – leading ultimately to the Prime Minister being forced to flee the country. Today, an interim Government is in place as we await elections as soon as possible.
For Justice and Care, the events have led to disruption – but it has not stopped us from providing care to survivors of modern slavery and pursuing those responsible.
With the ability to travel around the country safely limited, for a short period of time we have switched to providing support remotely, including virtual check-ins and counselling services. We have assessed all survivors’ needs and where necessary supported those whose income has been impacted by the unrest. We expect to resume all face-to-face activities next week.
Meanwhile, our work to bring freedom to those who have been trafficked has continued. Just last week we were able, with the support of partners in India, to help track down a 15-year-old girl who had been stalked by traffickers and then taken across the border for sexual exploitation. We have begun work to bring her home.
At the Border we have welcomed back and supported one young survivor returning from India whose repatriation home we have been working on for months. Our work with border guard officers has also seen three young girls protected from suspected traffickings.
And whilst courts in the country are closed, we continue work on scores of legal cases – preparing to bring justice for survivors. We are currently directly supporting more than 350 cases and will work with the interim Government to expedite these.
The upheaval creates a challenge in terms of the delivery of our work – we will need to build new relationships with ministries, police and the judiciary. But it also provides an opportunity. We believe more action is needed on fighting human trafficking in Bangladesh and we stand with the country in the hope that the historic events we’ve witnessed will help focus Government efforts on the horrific crime.