From the Frontlines with Steve Hill » Nineteen Christian Children Rescued from a Trafficker. via Persecution News.
International Christian Concern (ICC) has
learned that 19 children, who were to be sold to fundamentalist Islamic
boarding schools (madrassas), have been rescued. Traffickers lied to the
children’s parents, saying they would take the children to Christian
boarding schools in Dhaka, when in fact, they were intending to sell the
children to various madrassas. Students from Dhaka University
discovered the children and rescued them. This is not the first instance
of Christian children being trafficked to madrassas, as upwards of 150
children have been rescued from similar situations since July 2012.
According to ICC sources, on Feb. 3, 19
children, ages 5 to 12, were rescued from a trafficker named Binoy
Tripura. Binoy confessed that he “collected the kids from their parents
with lies and convinced them that [he] will admit all the kids to a
Missionary [Christian] school in Dhaka.” He then collected 15,000 Taka
(Roughly $183 USD) from each of their parents and intended to receive
payment from the madrassa upon delivery of the children.
The children, Christians from the Tripura
tribe, realized something was not right during their long bus journey
from the remote “Cimbuk Hill” in the Bandarban district to Bangladesh’s
capital city, Dhaka. Twelve of the children ran away at a rest stop and
called their parents to explain what was happening. Not knowing what
else to do, the parents called Tripura tribal students attending Dhaka
University, desperately asking for help. The university students met the
bus in Dhaka, rescued the remaining six children, and captured Binoy,
who is now in police custody.
This is not the first instance of
traffickers targeting low-income, Christian families due to their faith
and vulnerability. This year alone, 55 children have been rescued from
madrassas in Dhaka. On Jan. 2, police rescued 21 children from five
madrassas and “other Islamic organizations.” ICC sources say that these
children were forcibly converted to Islam and had their Christian names
legally changed to Muslim ones. They believe the children, once fully
brainwashed at the madrassa, were “destined for suicide squads” for use
in jihad.
ICC began receiving reports in July 2012
that Christian children were being trafficked to madrassas. The first 10
were rescued that same month and reported to ICC that they were forced
to study Quran verses and Muslim prayers, pray five times a day, and
learn Arabic. If they refused, they were beaten with live electric wires
or rods, underfed, locked in small closets, and verbally abused. “I was
beaten many, many times because I didn’t want to pray,” a rescued boy
said. Sources indicate that as many as 200 more children may also be in
need of rescue.
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