17-yr old Bangladeshi in despair, now labelled as thief

The video of a story narrated by a 17-year old Bangladeshi child to a Maldivian inside a park went viral on social media last May and caught the attention of many Maldivians.

The despairing tale of the child who had no one to go to for help, no work to do disheartened everyone who listened to it. He had arrived in the Maldives on the words of some fellow Bangladeshis who promised him employment at a guesthouse. After arriving, he was unable to contact them, in any way.

He was left stranded in a foreign country and had to sell the mobile phone he had to pay for the guesthouse he was living in. He had no money and nowhere to go.

The video of the child seen by many, resulted in some Maldivians and Bangladeshis extend their helping hand to the child in distress. When he was given money and a phone, he asked the money to be sent to his parents back home. And efforts were started to send the child back home. The story died down after that and many assumed that the child was sent back home.

Another video once again surfaced on social media last night. A similar story of despair.

The video showed a Bangladeshi who was caught trying to steal an egg case being humiliated by some locals who decided to take the law into their hands. They had stripped the migrant of his T-shirt and made him hold a board that read “Big Bangladeshi Thief”.

Some quickly recognized that this was the same child who was filmed on the video on social media in last May. The child who many had thought had been sent home, is still here, and in the same condition. Except, that it is even worse now, he has been branded a thief!

The video showed locals questioning the child as to why he stole the egg case. One man could be heard questioning the child in an accusatory tone whether he did drugs.

The child replies that he stole the case following the instructions of someone else and that he did not do drugs. He also says that he had to steal the case of eggs because he had no work to do.

He is seen disheartened when someone from the crowd asks him whether he should steal due to the lack of work. He is heard saying that he would not steal again.

Expatriate Shoplifter without a shirt holding a board written "I am a Bangladeshi thief". This is punishment for stealing a egg case given by the crowd who caught him and possibly the matter will be lodged at police. pic.twitter.com/5ZBp45VC3I

— PresShaani (@ujaasu) January 10, 2020

This is a common scene in the Maldives nowadays. People taking the law into their hands often humiliate alleged thieves caught. Stripping them down and making them hold a board labeled as “thief” is a common occurrence in the country.

Some people commented on social media that the Bangladeshi youth deserved what he got and defended the actions of the crowd surrounding him.

However, the other side of the video is dark and gloomy. It shows the extent of human trafficking in the country and the treatment migrants in the country receive.

While there are many migrants who intentionally live in the Maldives undocumented and are involved in criminal activities, there are also a large number of migrants who get caught in the nets of human traffickers. They are often left in ill conditions and are deprived of their rights.

This is not something done just by Maldivians, there are foreigners involved in this as well. The result of these people taking advantage of helpless migrants is that they are forced into a life of crime that they do not want. This has an extremely negative effect on the community.