Purushottam P. Khatri

Kathmandu, Jan. 19: Trafficking of Nepali women to the third country has become a major challenge to Nepal Police and other stakeholders as the racketeers have been found using the newest modes and tortuous network of human trafficking, according to security officials and reports. The national report on human trafficking by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in July 2019, had even mentioned that besides trafficking Nepali women to the third countries via Indian routes, in the recent years, human trafficking to China has also been thriving in different forms. The Nepali agents were found involved in human trafficking in coordination with the Chinese nationals via Kerung of Rasuwa and Sindhupalchowk.Human trafficking has remained a major problem in Nepal since 1947 when Nepali women started getting trafficked to India. A notice regarding this can be found published in the then Gorkhapatra weekly of 2004 BS.  In the latest initiative of the Nepal government and Nepal Police Headquarters, a separate Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau has been set up in Nepal Police 2019.

The government, security bodies and non-governmental organisations have been engaged in controlling all forms of human trafficking from Nepal. On the second week of August, 2019, Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police rescued four women and detained 10 racketeers - four Chinese and six Nepali nationals. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ishwor Babu Karki said that the rescued women were being trafficked to China by faking marriage with Chinese citizens. On November 11, 2019, again the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau succeeded to rescue another group of six Nepali women who were being trafficked to Malawi.

They were all held hostage there, said SSP Karki.

In this connection, the police had also detained Nazir Ahmad, a Malawian of Indian origin. The rescued women include four from Parbat, one from Dang and another one from Rukum. SSP Karki said that they were rescued after their family members lodged complaints at the Bureau on November 6. SSP Karki said that they came into contact of the agents in false assurance of helping them to manage their entry in to the USA. Before entering America, they were held hostage in Vietnam, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Jordon, Dubai, Azerbaijan and Malawi. Before taking them to America, they were first taken to Azerbaijan, and 20 days in Vietnam, four months in Ethiopia, 15 days in Madagascar, one month in Jordon, 45 days in Dubai and 20 days in Azerbaijan, said police. In yet another case, on August 21, 2019, four men and a woman were rescued by the Bureau who were held hostage for 10 months in Bali of Indonesia. SSP Karki said that they were made hostage by both Nepali and international agents before they reached their final destination to Australia via illegal routes. Trafficking of Nepali women to Europe, America, Gulf and African nations via India has become a common issue for the past few years despite government’s various attempts to control this crime, SSP Karki said. Human trafficking in the name of going abroad in tourist, working and travel visas have been creating all these problems, he said. Only last week, Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and the Department of Foreign Employment inked an agreement to identify and share information of the possibility of human trafficking under the cover of foreign employment.

Data speaks

According to Nepal Police, in the past four years, over 1,500 cases of human trafficking had been registered and 1,176 of them were busted. “There are not only Nepali citizens involved in human trafficking; foreign nationals are also extending their hands to the illegal network of third country human trafficking racket,” CIB in-charge DIG Niraj Bahadur Shahi said. Before the formation of Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau, CIB was active in undertaking investigation into the cases of human trafficking. In the last four years, 46 foreign nationals had also been detained by the Nepali Police, said police. Apart from this, involvement of women in trafficking is equally becoming a serious issue, said Nepal Police spokesperson DIG Shailesh Thapa Kshetri. As of now, 322 women have been arrested under human trafficking charge on different dates. According to police records, 743 individuals involved in human trafficking rackets in the past four years are still at large. Nepal Police file a charge sheet under Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2008 against those arrested on charge of trafficking in any form. According to NHRC report on human trafficking released in July, 2019, nearly 35,000 Nepali women and men had become victims of human trafficking last year (2018/19) alone. Of the total, 12,000 were trafficked in course of foreign employment in various African, European, American and South East Asian nations, 7,000 in various adult recreational centres abroad and around 3,000 children for bonded child labours. According to the report, at present, nearly, 1.5 million people from Nepal are at risk of being trafficked. According to Mohana Ansari, member of NHRC, 1.2 million girls between 13-19 years of age from rural sectors are at risk of being trafficked. Similarly, 21,000 women for adult entertainment in various recreational centres abroad, around 200,000 citizens who are ready for foreign employment and nearly 100,000 children are at risk of human trafficking. According to the report, basically women and children are trafficked to third countries as well as neighbouring countries for sexual abuse, prostitution and children for bonded labours. According to former AIG Navaraj Dhakal, for the past few decades, Nepali women had been forcefully trafficked to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Gulf countries, African nations like Kenya, Tanzania, and recently to Portugal, Spain managing various tourist, working and visit visas.

Trafficking routes

According to the investigation of police from two separate Bureaus, it the racketeers have African nations and Gulf countries as their destination, they first choose Indian borders, then head to Delhi, Mizoram, northeastern state of India, Sri Lanka and then to the Gulf countries. And if the racketeers have to traffic Nepali women, they choose Delhi, and Dubai route both. In case of trafficking to America, it is most probably the International Airport of Nepal, and in few cases, via roadways of India, said police. From Delhi, they are taken to Moscow, Spain, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico before entering America. For European countries, racketeers choose TIA, Dubai, Libya and then Italy from where they can entre other European countries. SSP Karki said that there are several layers and networks connected in this vicious cycle of human trafficking from Nepal to various international markets.   

Published on: 19 January 2020 | The Rising Nepal