Government urged to safeguard migrants, diaspora communities

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Leading migration specialists on Monday called on the federal government to protect Bangladeshi migrant employees and diaspora communities from the troubles that they faced abroad.

They also needed steps to link the diaspora communities with the development activities in the united states to reap the advantages of migration.

The experts made their remarks at a workshop titled Advancing Development through Partnership and Collective Action: Enriching Migration Cycle in the administrative centre.

The Bangladesh chapter of the International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions, referred to as INAFI, organised the function in collaboration with the Netherlands chapter of Bangladesh Support Group, referred to as BASUG.

They described migrants and diaspora community as the fantastic sources of remittances and skills that pushed ahead the country’s economy.

In his welcome address, BASUG International chairman Bikash Chowdhury Barua highlighted the objectives of the Global Compact on Migration to make sure safe, orderly and regular migration.

He needed concerted efforts to help make the migration useful for all. Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit executive director Professor CR Abrar of Dhaka University highlighted the issues that Bangladeshi migrant personnel and diaspora faced in the home and abroad.

He needed forging partnership and collective actions to protect them. He said that the skills that the migrants learned abroad and returned house with should be utilised properly. WARBE Development Foundation chairman Syed Saiful Haque said that there is no visible initiative of the federal government to groom skilled workers for overseas jobs.

Due to insufficient skills, Bangladeshi personnel earn low wages abroad, he said, and recruiting agencies are unduly thinking about unskilled workers because they are easily exploitable.

Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program chairman Shakirul Islam said that the federal government programmes for reintegration of the returnee migrants exited in papers only but not the truth is. He called on the federal government to take immediate steps to bring the vulnerable migrants beneath the social safety-net programmes.

BASUG country director in Finland Mojibur Doftori said that the Bangladeshi diaspora communities scattered across the world should also be engaged with the country’s development activities.

He said that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Muhammad Yunus and Sir Fazle Hasan Abed were migrants once plus they utilised their knowledge and skills earned abroad to improve their societies. Migration expert Asif Munir moderated the workshop, addressed amongst others by INAFI executive director Mahbuba Haque, Bangladeshi Ovhibashi Mohila Sramik Association director Farida Yeasmin, Film4Peace foundation executive director Pervez Siddiqui, Solidarity Center’s program officer Aysha Akter, Helvetas Bangladesh’ representative Farhadul Alam and Sarowat Binte Islam of Manusher Jonno Foundation.

Returned migrant workers, their rights activists and representatives of various organisations were present at the workshop.
Source: https://www.newagebd.net

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