Ensure sending workers abroad through legal channel

As the number of unemployed people in the country is rapidly increasing, many of them prefer to migrate abroad to escape the curse of unemployment or to get a better life.

And that’s exactly the opportunity that human traffickers take advantage of.

They lure people who want to go abroad with false promises of good jobs, lucrative salaries, and above all a better life.

On the one hand, large sums of money are extorted in the name of sending them abroad, while on the other, they are taken abroad and held them in secluded places, tortured, and ransom money is collected from their families. As a result, the families were again extorted from ransom money.

According to a newspaper report published yesterday, the four important labour markets for Bangladeshi workers are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Oman.

The report further said that except for Saudi Arabia, the sending of workers to the remaining three countries has been completely stopped.

Meanwhile, various complications are also going on in the Saudi labour market.

As a result, the rate of sending workers to that country is also decreasing day by day.

A data from the Manpower Employment and Training Bureau says, 813,064 Bangladeshi workers went abroad in the nine months from January to September this year.

Experts say, foreign employment is declining due to illegal immigration, human trafficking, law violations, and a lack of skilled workers.

Due to visa restrictions, and various other reasons, not a single one of the nine labour markets that were closed until last year has been able to reopen.

As a result, the rate of workers going abroad is constantly decreasing. Businessmen in the sector are seeing the risk of a collapse in the manpower export sector.

Meanwhile, 309 Bangladeshis illegally residing in the Libyan capital Tripoli and surrounding areas have been brought back to the country.

They returned home through the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment and with the support of the Libyan government and the International Organization for Migration.

As the number of unemployed people in the country increases, the tendency to go abroad illegally has increased. This in turn will harm legal immigration.

Therefore, in addition to increasing employment opportunity in the country, initiatives to send workers legally to foreign labour markets must be increased.

Strict action must be taken against the smuggling gangs. Initiatives must also be taken to speed up the trial of human trafficking cases. In addition, people must be made aware not to go abroad illegally.