B’desh: Trafficking survivors struggle as virus halts life
DHAKA: For trafficking survivorsturned-entrepreneurs in Bangladesh - from caterers to hairdressers - the coronavirus pandemic has threatened their fresh start and left many struggling to get by.
Starting a business or securing a job can offer a lifeline for ex-slaves as they try to recover financially and mentally, yet the outbreak has brought Bangladesh’s economy to a halt and driven many victims to shut up shop and seek loans to survive.
Having been enslaved and tortured as a maid in Saudi Arabia,
Dalia Akhter returned to Bangladesh in September and joined a food catering service that she helped run with other survivors.
The business started well but was forced to close last week when Bangladesh - which has seen 51 cases and five deaths - announced a nationwide shutdown until early April.
“I am not educated enough to get a job and the business was all that I had,” Akhter said by phone. “We earned just about enough to meet our daily needs.”
“I went through a lot of pain in Saudi and I thought this (business) would help me recover,” said Akhter, who broke her leg by jumping from her former employers’ third-floor home in order to escape. “I have to start all over again now.”
Three anti-slavery charities, which provide the bulk of support to survivors, said several victims with businesses had asked for assistance.
Justice and Care - a charity that has helped victims open beauty parlours and get jobs in the garment industry - said it was setting up an emergency fund to help more than 100 people. “Some of them need groceries, some need money. Some of them have given birth, so they need medical support,” said Shauly Sultana, the charity’s senior programme officer.