Human migration is not a new phenomenon rather it has been ongoing since the civilization. It is true that the characteristic of migration has changed over the years but the intention behind migrating ones’ motherland to somewhere else is alike.
Bangladeshi people who migrate their homeland are not all workers. A quarter of the migrants are from diverse professionals such as doctors, engineers, teachers, etc. leaving the country for jobs and academic purposes. But the majorities are migrant workers who mainly work in the Gulf States such as Bahrain, Kuwait, KSA, Oman, Qatar and the UAE.
Though the Middle East countries have been an abode of Bangladeshi migrants over the years, in recent years it is often observed that the migrant workers are also attempting to cross the Mediterranean illegally and trying to enter European countries to seek a bitter life and fleeing from looming uncertainty.
Undoubtedly, it is no denial that in recent years migrants have been undergoing different sorts of maltreatments in the host countries. They are facing a dire discrimination referring to their caste and creed. There is a strong anti-migrant sentiments prevailing across the globe for which there is hardly any countries where the life of a migrant is secured.
Obviously, things get tougher for the illegal migrants as different governments are busy to introduce strict laws to divide migrants from the main stream of their population that is worsening their despondency. They have the least access to resources, information and assistance. Even their states of origin are indifferent to their sufferings and abuse in the host countries and hardly show any cooperation to save them from the state of misfortune.
On top of that, human traffickers are always constant to prey on their clients. They are unabatedly promising falsely and exploiting people who want to be migrated. Especially, the Middle East countries are the fertile ground of human traffickers exploiting the migrants with their fake stories. These traffickers have established an international trafficking channel.
By this time the number of elite traffickers have increased, who have established the world syndicate of human trafficking. The recent conviction against MP Papul over human trafficking in Kuwait is an only instance among many other occurring across the globe blackening the image of the country to the hosting countries that creates a serious pose on our migrants to survive in the host lands.
Of the victims, girls, women and children are exposed more vulnerably. They are trapped easily by the traffickers as they are given promise of better life.
Unequal economy, gender-based discrimination and lack of information among the public about trafficking are many of the causes. Sometimes dailies expose many horrific stories how people are victimized by the traffickers but many more horrible stories go unheard.
Covid-19 pandemic is another culprit which has led the migrants to the state of great catastrophe. The ongoing recession has caused a heavy blot to our migrants. Thousands of migrant workers have been jobless spending their life in great despondency.
A great number of the migrants have already left the host countries .Due to the recession in world economy the hosting countries are thinking no alternatives but to turn their workers back to the countries of the origin and those who are lucky struggling to retain their works, they are ill-paid in these unprecedented days.
However, the migrants have enormous contributions not only to their country of the origin but also tot he host countries. They get themselves engaged in different challenging works but in return they are not even shown minimum respect, rather they are treated cruelly that is the gross violation of human rights.
There exist laws to protect them from all sorts of discrimination. According to the Convention Act 1975, one (migrant) shall enjoy equality of treatment with nationals in respect in particular of guarantees of security of employment, the provision of alternative employment, relief work or retraining. But the treatments in all regards they receive are hardly law convenient.
Truly, it is time to review despite introducing legislation why they are being exposed vulnerably and why they are not access to all sort of facilities living in the host countries? More importantly, it is a must to stop all sorts of cruelties and inequalities towards the migrants as they are doing huge contributions both for the host countries and the states of their origin.
(Mr. Alaul Alam teaches at Prime University, Email:[email protected])
