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KABUL (SW) – Young Ameenullah from Kandahar had never thought in his wildest dreams the hardships he went through while trying to migrate to Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.
After driving for hours, he got down from the car near a small town in Baluchistan. As he was walking, a car approached him, and two men hiding their faces overpowered him. He was bundled into the car and taken away.
When he gathered his conscious hours later, he saw himself in a dark room, his clothes and shoes were removed, and hands cuffed. He remained unconscious for hours, and spent the whole night like this. When he woke up, he cried for help. “Is there anyone to help me?”
An hour later, a man enters the room, gives Ameenullah a half bread, and leaves. An hour later, another man with gun enters the dark room, and warns the young Kandahari boy against shouting.
He was kept in the dark room for a week, making him weak and sick. And, then one day the armed man returned, and asked Ameenullah to come out. The young migrant was almost certain of death when he saw a shipping container tied to a truck. He was bundled into it, and driven away.
After a drive for an hour, he was taken out of the container, and left to join a number of bounded laborers in a coal mine surrounded by desert. He was made to work here for hours with no liberty to speak or even pray. The mine operator would serve lentils and tea only to the hard working bounded laborers at the mine.
After crippling labor for more than 18 months, Ameenullah got severely sick, but there was no medicine or doctor. One night, he managed to escape thanks to the help of a local Baloch watchman. He managed to reach a police station.
While narrating this tale, streams of tear were running down his face. Ameenullah said the police also persecuted and humiliated him. After a week, he was handed over to his friends in the Pishin area of Baluchistan who could not recognize him due to the hardships he endured. Even after return to Kandahar, Ameenullah is feeling the pain and horror of those dark days.
The National Referral Mechasnim Mechanism (NRM) is a mechanism which is developed by the Afghan government’s High Commission to combat trafficking and smuggling. The purpose of this mechanism is to help government and NGOs to identify, refer, assist, and protect the VoTs and prosecute traffickers in a coordinated manner as outlined in the Afghanistan TiP Law 2017.
Based on the NRM, the victims of human trafficking and trafficking of migrants can be identified with following:
- Based on the results of initial talks with the victims
- Monitoring evident features and behavior
- Information provided by the victim
- Evaluation of the circumstances in which the victim was persecutred
- Access to relevant sources
Ameenullah meets all these requirements. He, however, was not aware which organizations to access for justice, and under what law. However, relevant public offices should strive hard to immediately identify and access victims in line with the NRM.
Nek Mohammad Ahadi, head of the directorate of justice in Kandahar, said the local administration is striving hard to combat the menace of trafficking. He added efforts are underway to educate masses about this issue. He said the Penal Code proposes imprisonment of up to 20 years for criminals of trafficking.
Director for refugees and repatriation, Mohammad Raheem Rahimi, told Salam Watandar that the police in the province have taken into custody up to 300 people this year who wished to illegally migrate to Pakistan and then Europe.
However, local civil society activist, Ahmadullah Hewadwaal, has asserted that if the government is serious about combating trafficking, it should ensure peace and create jobs for youth in the country.
ENDS
