News
- Maiti Nepal's humanitarian effort to rescue four Bhutanese refugees from from slave like captivity in Bihar !!! - 2009-04-16
Maiti Nepal rescued four Bhutanese refugees, 3 women and a man ( 19 to 22 years of age) from Motihari, state of Bihar,India. A trafficker named Bhaktinath Koirala had trafficked them to Darapa Thana Lohadiya village in Motihari, Bihar from Bhutanese refugee camp Sanischare of Jhapa,Nepal in pretext of providing job in a private school in Birgunj. The man got them enrolled in a private school in Bihar as teachers.
But , in contrary to their colourful expectations , they were treated like animals and were mercilessly exploited in all forms in the school. They often had to work with empty stomach .They were given nothing to eat and were asked to fish in a nearby pond to satisfy their hunger. Sometimes they were given raw potato and rice to be cooked by burning waste papers. They were forced to sleep on cement floor with a brick pillow. Not only that, they were repeatedly beaten and raped.
After about two months, they luckily managed to make call at home. The guardians of the four, raged and anxious , went to the school to bring them back but they were returned empty handed. Instead, the school administration threatened them with dire consequences.
The shattered and agonized guardians, and infuriated Bhutanese refugee camp management committee requested to Maiti Nepal, Birgunj to get their family members rescued. Maiti Nepal took the humanitarian initiative and extended co ordination with the Darapa Thana Police office via Raxual police office to reach the school. A raid was conducted and finally the four persons were rescued .The principal of the school was obliged to pay them the total salary of two months.
The liberated survivors have issued a letter in the name of Maiti Nepal and have extended their immense gratefulness for what we did to get them released.
