9 ‘trafficked’ girls return from Gulf nations
As many as nine girls, who were stuck in Gulf countries after being “trafficked and sold” by travel agents, have returned to Punjab
As many as nine girls, who were stuck in Gulf countries after being “trafficked and sold” by travel agents, have returned to Punjab. The victims met Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal, who took up their cases with the ministry of external affairs for their return.
Narrating their ordeals, the victims alleged that they were unaware about being “sold” in countries like Iraq, Oman and Qatar for a huge amount of money. “Nearly 20 girls are still stuck in one place in Oman where helpless girls are being treated worse than animals. We were promised jobs at lucrative remuneration by travel agents. As soon we came out of the Qatar airport, our passports were taken away and we were kept in a multi-storey building, which agents used as an office. From here, the girls were sent to work and upon their return from work, they used to be again locked in a room,” they said.
A girl from a village in Jalandhar district, who returned from Iraq, said a female travel agent tortured her to such an extent that she is still unable to recover from this shock. Her mother said she was taken to Iraq by her aunt. “Her aunt is still threatening her and demanding the money spent in Iraq,” she said.
Another Jalandhar victim, who returned from Oman, said she was sent there as a house help but she was ill-treated and exploited. When I protested, I was beaten up badly,” she said.
Seechewal said the stories of the girls trapped in Arab countries are saddening and it shows how travel agents, especially victims’ relatives, resort to such activities to fulfill their greed.
“They had to bear different kinds of torture, leaving them with no option than to return in a state of shock and fear,” he added.