26 youth sent to Libya instead of Italy, 25 families bankrupt after falling prey to middlemen
Elderly Enamul Haque collected Tk 12,00,000 by saving and selling agricultural land and he borrowed another Tk 12,00,000.
With expectations of changing his family's fortunes, he spent a total of Tk 22,00,000 to send his two sons to Italy through a middleman.
The broker promised that they would go to Italy but instead sent them to Libya, where they were detained and tortured, leading to financial extortion. For a year, the family has had no contact with the two sons.
This is the plight of Enamul Haque's family from Laluartuk village in Goalnagar union.
The broker's network sent 26 young men from 25 families in Laluartukh, Dakshindia, Goalnagar, and Ratani village in Kishoreganj's Ashotogram union to Libya under the pretext of sending them to Italy.
Each family paid Tk 1.1 million for this venture. Although nine young men have returned to the country after suffering abuse and harassment, others remain either imprisoned or missing. The 25 families have been left impoverished after falling prey to the middlemen. Relatives have also organised a human chain in the area demanding justice and compensation.
Relatives of the victims allege that the brokers involved include Farhad Mia, Mamun Mia, and Arman Mia from Goalnagar village, as well as Saydul Islam from Simirkandi village in the same union. This group lured the 26 individuals with promises of sending them to Italy but instead took them to Libya.
Among those currently missing are Arman Mia,26, the son of Saraj Mia, Zahiru Islam, 19, son of Rehan Uddin, Hasan, 23, son of Nazim Uddin, Monir Mia,24, son of Yunus Mia, Mizba Uddin, 26, son of Shafiqul Islam, and Tafsirul Haque, 30, and Takbirul Haque, 23, both sons of Enamul Haque.
Farhad Mia, the leader of the broker network, promised to take them to Italy a year and a half ago but sent them to Libya instead.
Enamul Haque said, "I sold land worth Tk 700,000 and borrowed Tk 1.2 million. I had saved some money as well. In total, I spent Tk 2.2 million to send my two sons abroad. I last spoke to Takbirul four times. It has been a year since I last heard from Tafsirul. Now they are missing."
Among the nine young men who returned after being detained and tortured in Libya are Ahid Mia and Azharul Mia from Goalnagar village, Suman Mia and Delwar Hossain from Dakshindia village, and two brothers Khairul Mia and Mamun Mia from Laluartukh village, along with Mahin Ahmed, Arshad Mia, and Rahul Mia from Ratani village in Ashotogram union, Kishoreganj.
They said that they traveled to Libya through Farhad in 2022-23 and returned to Bangladesh after being released from prison between 7 August and 14 September.
Victim Suman Mia told Prothom Alo, "I paid Farhad a total of Tk 1.1 to go to Italy. They promised to take us to Italy within a week but instead took us to Libya. From Benghazi, we were put on a boat with 60 others."
"After an hour, we realized we had been sold. They kept us in a camp for a month and tortured us daily. We were given food once every 24 hours. For bathing and toilet needs, we were given only two liters of salty water, and just one piece of bread at night. Eating that caused everyone stomach pain," he lamented.
Suman Mia said, "From morning till evening, we worked at the house of a man named Ahmad. If we did not work, Ahmad’s son would beat us with a pistol and threaten us. On days without work, we were made to stand in the scorching sun. Ahmad's son would kick our food away and sometimes even force us to eat our own urine."
Mahin Ahmed, Delwar Hossain, and others shared that before leaving for Libya, everyone paid Farhad Tk 4,00,000 each. Once in Libya, Farhad kept them in a camp and extorted an additional Tk 450,000 from each of them. If the authorities intercepted their boat, they would end up in prison.
Later, Farhad managed to secure their release. He charged their families an additional Tk 250,000 each for what he called the "game" of sending them to Italy. After three to two and half months, Farhad sold them off.
After languishing for three months, they managed to contact their families through a Pakistani man with the help of someone in Bhairab. They were able to return home after each family paid an additional Tk 1,20,000 for plane tickets and expenses.
Arman has been missing for a month, while Monir Mia and Md Hasan have been missing for six months. Recently, while visiting his home at Goalnagar, the main accused, Farhad Mia, was not available, and no family member was willing to speak on the matter. When contacted by phone, Farhad cut the call upon realizing the identity of the journalist and has since been unreachable despite multiple attempts.
Another accused, Saydul Mia, speaking to Prothom Alo, said, "I went to Libya through my cousin Farhad. I was also in jail there for a month and returned home two months ago after spending a total of 18 months there. I did not take any money from anyone. Since I am related to Farhad, they are now speaking against me."
Mohammad Imranul Haque Bhuiyan, the upazila nirbahi officer of Nasirnagar, told Prothom Alo, "These are horrifying incidents. However, we were not aware of them. We learned about it through journalists. None of the victims have lodged any complaints with us. If complaints are made, we will take legal action based on an investigation."