http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/02/15/d40215011313.htm

Maimed, still happy to be back home

The tragic tale of a trafficked teenager

Our Correspondent, Magura

The ordeal of 13-year-old Anwar Hossain Kazi's poor parents ended finally in the return of their son, albeit maimed, about one and a half years after he was trafficked to India.

As the boy returned to their cottage in Telipukur village in Mohammadpur Upazila in Magura Friday afternoon with his father Kazi Ishaq Hossain, his mother Reena Parveen ran to him at the first sight, hugged him and let tears of joy roll down her cheeks.

"I said nofle namaj (additional prayers) thousands of times over the last two years to get you back," was all she could mutter to her son.

The father said Anwar went missing in the month of Ashwin in the Bangla year 1409, which happened to be September 2002 in Roman calendar. "He was last seen watching a boat race in the Madhumati at Char Pachuria village," he said.

Whenever the family would hear of Anwar's having been spotted, the father would rush for him. In search they went to Dhaka, Barisal, Bagerhat, Gopalganj, Faridpur, Moksedpur, Khagrachhari and Rajbari.

Anwar said he had gone to Daulatdia ferry ghat in Rajbari looking for a job and from there he was kidnapped and trafficked to India by unidentified people.

"At an unknown place, some miscreants severed my penis and broke my right hand as I tried to resist them," he narrated his sordid tale to reporters, his relatives and thousands of locals who thronged their house to catch a glimpse of Anwar.

Anwar lost his left eye to brutal torture and says he is not sure whether any of his kidneys has been removed.

A critically injured Anwar was rushed to Mother Teresa Home in New Delhi. The teenager was dying to get back home to see his parents once his condition improved after treatment there in June 2003.

The break finally came when Shamsul Bari, chairman of the Research Initiative Bangladesh, an NGO and a man of Magura, went to Gangtok in India to attend a conference in October last year. Former secretary of Indian government Shiva Ramakrishnan, whose wife is a volunteer of Mother Teresa Home, told him that a boy was languishing in the Home and that he wanted to return to his parents in Magura.

Bari contacted Ain O Shalish Kendra, a legal aid organisation, for making arrangements to bring the boy back. A man from the organisation went to meet Anwar's father, who was in Barisal looking for Anwar.

Later, the parents came to the capital and contacted Bari and the Ain O Shalish Kendra.

On completion of official formalities, Ain O Shalish Kendra officials with the help of Bangladesh National Women's Lawyers Association flew Anwar in Dhaka on Thursday and handed him to his parents at his village home Friday afternoon.

Bari and Advocate Hamida Hossain of Ain O Shalish Kendra had been to the remote village to witness the reunion.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/02/15/ ... back03.jpg (http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/02/15/ ... 11313p.htm)

Parents of Anwar, who was trafficked into India from home village in Magura 18 months ago, smile in joy in happy reunion after his recent rescue. PHOTO: STAR

Good lord!

No one should have to go through that!

Agreed. It's an interesting insight into that part of the world, no?

talula wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2004 7:45 pm Good lord!

No one should have to go through that!

I've cried both times I've read this. I haven't told Ashleigh about it 'cause it would hurt her too.

I believe there is a Heaven and a Hell. I think even the latter is too good for those that hurt this boy so badly. Hell is where they will go, of course, but I regret that I and some others here can't have some "Special Time" with them beforehand. We could do things to them that make Hell seem a relief.

Yoli

You all are right!

But this boy is lucky in a way. He is still alive.

Consider that BASTARD that kidnapped the 11 year-old girl in Florida and killed her. He is the same type of low-life that did this in India.

It wouldn't do for me to take care of these sub-humans. None of them would ever make it to trial.

A-1

While most people would probably prefer not even to know about it, SLAVERY still exists in the modern world. What happened to this youngster is not nearly as rare as we would like to think. It is estimated that there are over 27 MILLION slaves in the world today. The U.S. State Department has published that over 700,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international boundaries every year.

Today’s e-mail brought a request for action from Anti-Slavery International (www.antislavery.org) (the old British Anti-Slavery Society under its current name). There are reports of new slave raids in the western Sudan. Women and children being taken to serve as agricultural and domestic slaves.

It’s only been a few years since ASI published solid documentation on the castration of Sudanese boys to serve as domestic slaves. Last year Time Magazine published an article about the sale of Afghani children (both boys and girls) into the Middle East to serve as domestic slaves. A reporter from the Mainichi Daily News (Tokyo) wrote recently about attending a slave sale in Byelorussia where small boys and girls were sold to brothel keepers. (He only expressed shock that there were boys, as well as girls, for sale.) The horror continues, but you can do your small part to help by responding to the request below:

____________________

This is a request for you to take urgent action on slavery in Sudan. Thousands of people have been abducted and enslaved since the outbreak of civil war in Sudan in 1983. Even as peace talks take place between the Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), Anti-Slavery International has received reports of new slave raids in the Darfur region of western Sudan in 2004.

Fighting in Darfur is continuing between Janjawid militias, armed and supported by the Government, and the Fur, Masaleet and Zaghawa tribes in the region. According to these reports, government-backed militias are abducting women and children from north and west Darfur and forcing them into slavery in the south of the region.

The United Nations and human rights groups, including Anti-Slavery International, have expressed their concern at the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in Darfur. Anti-Slavery International is particularly concerned about the new pattern of abductions, especially at the same time as discussions on the peace process are going on.

Please write to the Government of Sudan to voice your concern about the abduction of women and children in Darfur, and to urge them to ensure that the respect and promotion of human rights forms an integral part of any peace agreement.

You can simply cut and paste the following sample letter into your letter or fax, but personalising it will add more weight to your request.

Contact details:

Lieutenant-General Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir

President

President's Palace

PO Box 281

Khartoum, Sudan

Fax: ++ 249 11 783223

Salutation: Your Excellency

Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

PO Box 873

Khartoum, Sudan

Fax: ++249 11 779 383

Salutation: Dear Minister

Mr Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin

Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Ministry of Justice

PO Box 302

Khartoum, Sudan

Salutation: Dear Minister

Sample letter:

------------------------------------------

I am writing to express my deep concern over the worsening human rights and humanitarian situation in Darfur, western Sudan. I am particularly alarmed to hear that there have been reports of women and children being abducted from the north and west of Darfur and then taken to South Darfur.

I welcome the current progress being made in the peace process, however it is vital that these peace talks do not distract the Government from its role in ending these raids and terminating its support for the militias responsible for the abductions.

I urge the Government to:

• Investigate the reported abductions by militias in Darfur and make sure that any women and children who have been abducted are returned to their homes,

• Take action to bring an end to abduction and all associated practices and to prosecute those responsible for these new abductions,

• Ensure that respect and promotion of human rights, including a complete end to abduction and the use of forced labour, is an integral part of any peace agreement reached between the Government and the SPLM/A.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully

------------------------------------------

Please forward copies of any response you receive.

Many thanks for your support,

Sarah Williams

Campaigns Officer

s.williams@antislavery.org

So - children that are recruited as SOLDIERS are also slaves - really .. ???

The age of these soldiers in various countries are definitely MINORS and they learn to soldier. Curious how Children Soldiers relates to Children Slaves ..??

N3RF

This is an important issue. But I would like to remind everyone to pay attention to the dates of posts before answering them. --FLO--