Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Epaper

Border killings there and here

Published : Friday, 28 June, 2019 at 12:00 AM  Count : 644
Last Wednesday, the horrific image and news report of a drowned man and his daughter trying to cross into the United Sates through the Rio Grande, US-Mexico border , had drawn global attention. A number of Western media agencies instantly became busy, giving it a top news lead. Indeed, the image of the Salvadoran father and his daughter lying face down in the water is a heartbreaking testimony of forced migration. But even more depressing is the continuous grisly killings of more than a thousand Bangladeshis by the BSF along the two thousand plus kilometres Indo--Bangladesh border.

Surprisingly enough, where a single isolated incident of drowning of a father and daughter between USA and Mexico becomes headline news - regular border killings of poor, unarmed Bangladesh villagers by the BSF on the Indo--Bangladesh border gets rarely mentioned by the international media houses.

The fact that wider and stronger barbed wire fences do not actually make good neighbours stands one hundred percent correct between India and Bangladesh relations. In a world--increasingly turning hostile towards immigration--a staggering thousand plus or minus killings along a particular borderline matters profoundly.    

The question raised by this writer, however, what's the professional stance and policy of international media agencies on the topic to cover border killings worldwide? Am I to assume, American borders are more important than others? Are the lives of South American victims more important than an African, Bangladeshi or a South Asian border crossing victim?

The truth: Death toll between India and Bangladesh borders has been huge enough in the past decade. Our biggest and supposedly the most important and traditional ally India has practically turned our shared borders into plain killing fields. India's shoot - to -kill policy within our shared borders merits the question, if the country has turned into a racial and intolerable state as of late. That's not all, border law enforcers of the world's so-called biggest democracy; otherwise, the BSF. Furthermore, the Indian border security agency has peculiarly justified its killings of Bangladeshis along the Indo-Bangladesh borders.  

As the international media turns abuzz with the killings of a South American father and daughter, the world barely knows that not even a single BSF official has been ever prosecuted to have carried out the killings of no less than a thousand Bangladeshis by the Indian BSF.

What ' s even more strange, in order to prevent smuggling and illegal migration from Bangladesh, Indian Border Security Force can exercise the much  controversial "Shoot-on-sight" policy. The policy enables the BSF to shoot any people with impunity on site near the border areas - with or without cause.

Our biggest next door neighbour India, definitely has its rights to impose border control rules, but not by violating its legal and ethical codes of conduct. Referring to a latest Guardian news report, head of the BSF reportedly said that -
'People should not feel sorry for the victims since these individuals were illegally entering Indian Territory, often at night, they were not innocent and therefore were a legitimate target.'

This writer is yet to fathom his explanation, my common sense says, apart from visible armed infiltrators none should become a victim of a shoot - to -kill policy, be it along the US-Mexico border or the Indo - Bangladesh border. Moreover, the killings between our borders become even more confusing since, Bangladeshi border officials have also allegedly said - 'such killings are acceptable if the victim was engaged in smuggling.'

I believe innumerable people, all across the world, are yet to understand the differences between 'acceptable' and 'unacceptable' killings while crossing borders illegally.  Millions of helpless Bangladeshi refugees had fled and crossed via the Indo - Bangladesh border in 1971. How many were shot?

However, this writer and his readers are qualified enough to differentiate between legal and illegal border crossings , but when it comes to shoot - to - kill policy implemented by respective border law enforcers , confusion remains to a greater extent. The Indian BSF must right away end its killing spree of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants. Rather the BSF should hand over these illegal migrants over to Bangladesh authorities. I believe this to be a much pragmatic and strategic step for controlling illegal border crossings.

Once more, this writer would like to repeat the same question: Whose lives are more valuable for the media to spot under the limelight - a Mexican, a Salvadorian or a Bangladeshi?

It is also important to remind all border authorities scattered across the world that an illegal immigrant, be it in any border of the world, do not take the deathly risk to step into another country out of a fancy or whim. Any immigrant emigrates mainly to escape injustice, torture, poverty and oppression. Border control rules must take this fact into consideration.   

To finish with, this very moment I feel like placing two tear-jerking images side by side. The image of the ill-fated drowned Salvadorian father with his baby daughter and the ghastly image of Felani, a 15 year old Bangladeshi girl's body hanging on the Indian barbed wire. The poor girl was shot by the BSF while entering Bangladesh illegally as her body got struck in the barbed wire. She remained for five hours in that agonising state until she bled to death. Her death resulted in countrywide protests throughout Bangladesh while the National Human Rights Commission of India asked the Indian government to pay Rs 500,000 compensation to her family. Merely half a million rupees is the price of a human life inside the world's so - called largest democracy.
       
Both horrific images echo of inopportune ending of lives, but the latter took place along the Indian 'killing fields' running along Bangladesh.

The writer is editor - in charge, editorial section, The Daily Observer


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