Some 51 percent of Bangladeshi migrant workers experience fraudulence or degrading treatment at different stages of their migration, according to a study.
Of them, 19 percent failed to go abroad even after making a portion of or full payment and 32 percent faced fraudulence in the destination countries, said the study carried out by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit.
RMMRU under the PROKAS project of British Council conducted the research in Tangail district on the role of dalals (brokers) in migration process to identify the extent of fraudulence.
The fieldwork was held in nine villages of Paikora union and 11 wards of Elenga municipality, said RMMRU founding chair Tasneem Siddiqui while disseminating the study findings at a consultation on fraudulence in migration process at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of Dhaka University on Wednesday.
Some 300 households from each village/ward constituted the enumeration area and a total of 5,407 households were covered under the census, she said.
Leaders of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), deceived migrant workers, and representatives from government and non-government organisations took part in discussion at the consultation.
Speaking as the chief guest, former Appellate Division judge Justice Mohammad Nizamul Huq said there are still some problems in the migration sector and steps must be taken to find a way out.
“One group of people who are cheating the migrants must be brought to justice,” he said underscoring the need for the recruiting agencies and the government to play their responsible roles in ensuring the security and rights of the workers who are going abroad.
Baira President Benjir Ahmed said they were working with the government to ensure safe migration for all outgoing workers.
He stressed the importance of introducing an online recruitment system to keep the middlemen at bay.
Few male and female migrants who faced fraudulence by the middlemen shared their experiences at the consultation.
Professor of International Relations at Dhaka University CR Abrar and Deputy Chief of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry Ali Reza, among others, spoke at the consultation.
