Thousands of expatriates have come back home in the wake of spreading coronavirus. Other thousands of migrant workers are likely to face the untoward situation due to economic recession involving the pandemic. Of the returnees, a number of migrants are now missing as most of their documents are not accurate. The government needs to identify brokers in manpower exports by bringing changes to laws to hold them accountable for such malpractices. The brokers locally known as ‘dalals’ are mostly responsible for irregularities and high migration costs and their presence is pervasive at different tiers of the recruitment process. But the government usually doesn’t take any initiative to hold them accountable. Even if the situation becomes normal in future, the migrant workers and their families will not be able to reap benefits as long as these middlemen or brokers are not held accountable for their activities. Bangladeshi migrant workers pay extremely high migration fees. Around 76 per cent migrants are compelled to take loans for migration, and many others are forced to resort to selling land.
In the present changing scenery, many have returned empty-handed with critical illnesses and psychological trauma. Some returnees will have to sell their ancestral land to repay debts which would puts them into further economic hardship. On the other hand, the women migrant workers have to face even greater challenges upon their return as they are often abandoned by their husbands. In many cases, their physical and mental illnesses remain untreated due to lack of financial resources. This leaves them highly vulnerable with little or no support in a society that tends to further persecute victims to further deteriorate their condition. If there is no measure to protect migrant workers including women, a real social and financial burden is almost inevitable.
It will be wise for the government to bring all the brokers under legal bindings. Side by side, a huge diplomatic initiative would be needed to ensure secured job markets for our migrant workers, in the near future.
