AMID the European Union’s offer to cooperate with Bangladesh in sending back illegal migrants, Bangladesh has called for a “return and reintegration package” for its “irregular” migrants living in European countries. The EU called on Bangladesh to bring back some 80,000 irregular Bangladeshis living in Europe and offered to design a special programme for the reintegration of returnees, at the first-ever Bangladesh-EU Dialogue on Migration Management in Dhaka. Diplomatic sources said the package might include training, skill development and small business for the returnees with the help of the EU so that the returnees could smoothly reintegrate into societies and carry forward their lives in a “dignified” manner, as per a report of a local daily.Illegal immigration is a serious issue for all countries concerned. It occurs mostly due to extreme social or economic reasons which force individuals to desperately seek livelihoods in other countries at any cost. They are mostly portrayed in the press as people who will do anything to make money and derided by their countrymen and outsiders alike – but the reality is far different. People do not easily go to other countries unless they are unable to make a decent living in their own. This is the harsh reality.The EU only shelters around 1.9-3.8 million illegal migrants at any given time compared to the US which shelters almost 12 million – although worldwide there are almost 50 million refugees as per recent data. Most developing nations -including Bangladesh give shelter to a far greater number of such migrants than developed nations – we currently provide shelter to around 500000 Rohingyas.It is upto the government to ultimately stop illegal immigration by providing quality education and training and helping develop social infrastructure so that jobs can be created more easily. To attract FDI we can give generous tax holidays and one stop services to ensure that illegal immigration is stopped as high levels of investment are the greatest guarantee of job security in any economy. Ultimately it is not the fault of our poor citizens – who desperately try to feed their families by any means possible – but the structure of governance which fails to adequately look after their wants. Instead of blaming the illegal immigrants to other countries our own government has to take seriously the responsibility of finding jobs and stopping human trafficking. We cannot make our helpless people suffer indignity and humiliation in other countries. We have to accept their suffering and humiliation as all of ours.
