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Selling Dreams on Small Boats: The Rohingya Trafficking Network

Published December 16th, 2020 - 08:12 GMT

Auto rickshaws slip easily past barbed-wire checkpoints at the world's biggest refugee camp. Their drivers are among the smallest players in a complex human trafficking network involving high-seas extortion gangs, corrupt police and drug lords.

Aboard the spluttering rickshaws are small groups of young men, women and children hoping to escape the misery of life with other members of their stateless Rohingya group who are crowded into shanties in Bangladesh.

Nineteen-year-old Enamul Hasan was aboard one of the rickshaws early this year, taken to the coast and then by small boat into a bigger fishing vessel anchored in the Bay of Bengal where he joined hundreds of other Rohingya hoping to reach Malaysia.

"I was told I'd get the opportunity to finish my studies and earn money to get my family out of poverty," Hasan told AFP, recounting the promises of the low-level smuggler in the camp who was his main contact for organizing the trip.

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Rohingya migrant hugs an Indonesian officer after a boat carrying other migrants made landing by the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP

Rohingya migrant hugs an Indonesian officer after a boat carrying other migrants made landing by the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP

This file picture taken on September 8, 2020 shows a group of Rohingya men sleeping on a pile of donated clothes at a transit camp after nearly 300 Rohingya migrants came ashore on the beach in Lhokseumawe on the northern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Rahmat Mirza / A

This file picture taken on September 8, 2020 shows a group of Rohingya men sleeping on a pile of donated clothes at a transit camp after nearly 300 Rohingya migrants came ashore on the beach in Lhokseumawe on the northern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Rahmat Mirza / AFP

In this photograph taken on October 7, 2020, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel patrol along a street in Jamtoli refugee camp for Rohingyas in Ukhia. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP

In this photograph taken on October 7, 2020, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel patrol along a street in Jamtoli refugee camp for Rohingyas in Ukhia. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP

In this photograph taken on October 10, 2020, fishermen set out on a fishing boat at Sabrang beach area, a boarding point of Rohingya refugees migrating to Malaysia by boat. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP

In this photograph taken on October 10, 2020, fishermen set out on a fishing boat at Sabrang beach area, a boarding point of Rohingya refugees migrating to Malaysia by boat. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP

This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old daughter Nosmin Fatima (bottom L) being carried off a boat as she and her mother Majuma land with other Rohingya migrants in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh Regency. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP

This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old daughter Nosmin Fatima (bottom L) being carried off a boat as she and her mother Majuma land with other Rohingya migrants in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh Regency. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP

Stay in a squalid refugee camp -- hopeless, starving, and made to feel a burden -- or leave, risking death, rape, human trafficking and months at sea to reach a husband you've never met. This is the bleak choice many Rohingya women, already scarred from fleeing persecution in Myanmar, are now facing. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP

Stay in a squalid refugee camp -- hopeless, starving, and made to feel a burden -- or leave, risking death, rape, human trafficking and months at sea to reach a husband you've never met. This is the bleak choice many Rohingya women, already scarred from fleeing persecution in Myanmar, are now facing. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP

In this file photo taken on June 25, 2020 Rohingya migrants sit by the beach after their boat landed on the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP

In this file photo taken on June 25, 2020 Rohingya migrants sit by the beach after their boat landed on the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP

This picture taken on November 16, 2020 shows Rohingya refugee "Abdu Hamid" (using a pseudonym) holding his mobile phone on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, during a video call with his wife who is living at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia in southern Bangladesh. The video-call app they used to get married in 2017 remains the only means of contact for Julekha and her husband, Abdu Hamid, a Rohingya hotel worker. Mohd RASFAN / AFP

This picture taken on November 16, 2020 shows Rohingya refugee "Abdu Hamid" (using a pseudonym) holding his mobile phone on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, during a video call with his wife who is living at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia in southern Bangladesh. The video-call app they used to get married in 2017 remains the only means of contact for Julekha and her husband, Abdu Hamid, a Rohingya hotel worker. Mohd RASFAN / AFP

This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old Nosmin Fatima (R) with other Rohingya migrants as they arrive in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP

This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old Nosmin Fatima (R) with other Rohingya migrants as they arrive in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP

Rohingya migrant hugs an Indonesian officer after a boat carrying other migrants made landing by the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
This file picture taken on September 8, 2020 shows a group of Rohingya men sleeping on a pile of donated clothes at a transit camp after nearly 300 Rohingya migrants came ashore on the beach in Lhokseumawe on the northern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Rahmat Mirza / A
In this photograph taken on October 7, 2020, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel patrol along a street in Jamtoli refugee camp for Rohingyas in Ukhia. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
In this photograph taken on October 10, 2020, fishermen set out on a fishing boat at Sabrang beach area, a boarding point of Rohingya refugees migrating to Malaysia by boat. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old daughter Nosmin Fatima (bottom L) being carried off a boat as she and her mother Majuma land with other Rohingya migrants in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh Regency. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
Stay in a squalid refugee camp -- hopeless, starving, and made to feel a burden -- or leave, risking death, rape, human trafficking and months at sea to reach a husband you've never met. This is the bleak choice many Rohingya women, already scarred from fleeing persecution in Myanmar, are now facing. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
In this file photo taken on June 25, 2020 Rohingya migrants sit by the beach after their boat landed on the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
This picture taken on November 16, 2020 shows Rohingya refugee "Abdu Hamid" (using a pseudonym) holding his mobile phone on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, during a video call with his wife who is living at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia in southern Bangladesh. The video-call app they used to get married in 2017 remains the only means of contact for Julekha and her husband, Abdu Hamid, a Rohingya hotel worker. Mohd RASFAN / AFP
This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old Nosmin Fatima (R) with other Rohingya migrants as they arrive in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
Rohingya migrant hugs an Indonesian officer after a boat carrying other migrants made landing by the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
Rohingya migrant hugs an Indonesian officer after a boat carrying other migrants made landing by the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
This file picture taken on September 8, 2020 shows a group of Rohingya men sleeping on a pile of donated clothes at a transit camp after nearly 300 Rohingya migrants came ashore on the beach in Lhokseumawe on the northern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Rahmat Mirza / A
This file picture taken on September 8, 2020 shows a group of Rohingya men sleeping on a pile of donated clothes at a transit camp after nearly 300 Rohingya migrants came ashore on the beach in Lhokseumawe on the northern coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Rahmat Mirza / AFP
In this photograph taken on October 7, 2020, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel patrol along a street in Jamtoli refugee camp for Rohingyas in Ukhia. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
In this photograph taken on October 7, 2020, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel patrol along a street in Jamtoli refugee camp for Rohingyas in Ukhia. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
In this photograph taken on October 10, 2020, fishermen set out on a fishing boat at Sabrang beach area, a boarding point of Rohingya refugees migrating to Malaysia by boat. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
In this photograph taken on October 10, 2020, fishermen set out on a fishing boat at Sabrang beach area, a boarding point of Rohingya refugees migrating to Malaysia by boat. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old daughter Nosmin Fatima (bottom L) being carried off a boat as she and her mother Majuma land with other Rohingya migrants in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh Regency. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old daughter Nosmin Fatima (bottom L) being carried off a boat as she and her mother Majuma land with other Rohingya migrants in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh Regency. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
Stay in a squalid refugee camp -- hopeless, starving, and made to feel a burden -- or leave, risking death, rape, human trafficking and months at sea to reach a husband you've never met. This is the bleak choice many Rohingya women, already scarred from fleeing persecution in Myanmar, are now facing. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
Stay in a squalid refugee camp -- hopeless, starving, and made to feel a burden -- or leave, risking death, rape, human trafficking and months at sea to reach a husband you've never met. This is the bleak choice many Rohingya women, already scarred from fleeing persecution in Myanmar, are now facing. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
In this file photo taken on June 25, 2020 Rohingya migrants sit by the beach after their boat landed on the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
In this file photo taken on June 25, 2020 Rohingya migrants sit by the beach after their boat landed on the shores of Lancok village, in Indonesia's North Aceh Regency. Boatloads of Rohingya landing across Southeast Asia are victims of complex human trafficking networks run by a dizzying web of players, from crime bosses and corrupt cops to poor fishermen, rickshaw drivers and even Rohingya themselves. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
This picture taken on November 16, 2020 shows Rohingya refugee "Abdu Hamid" (using a pseudonym) holding his mobile phone on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, during a video call with his wife who is living at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia in southern Bangladesh. The video-call app they used to get married in 2017 remains the only means of contact for Julekha and her husband, Abdu Hamid, a Rohingya hotel worker. Mohd RASFAN / AFP
This picture taken on November 16, 2020 shows Rohingya refugee "Abdu Hamid" (using a pseudonym) holding his mobile phone on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, during a video call with his wife who is living at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia in southern Bangladesh. The video-call app they used to get married in 2017 remains the only means of contact for Julekha and her husband, Abdu Hamid, a Rohingya hotel worker. Mohd RASFAN / AFP
This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old Nosmin Fatima (R) with other Rohingya migrants as they arrive in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
This photo taken on June 25, 2020 shows six-year-old Nosmin Fatima (R) with other Rohingya migrants as they arrive in Lhokseumawe in North Aceh. Weeks after a funeral for the wife and daughter he thought had died at sea while trying to sail to him, Nemah Shah was stunned when he saw online images of them emerging from a refugee boat in Indonesia. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP

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