Over Tk 140cr disbursed as loans to returnee migrant workers: Expats welfare minister
Star file photo Star Digital Report Star Digital Report
The Probashi Kalyan Bank has so far disbursed over Tk 140 crore from the Tk 700 crore special reintegration loan for migrant workers returning amid the coronavirus pandemic, Expatriates Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad said today.
The amount disbursed between July and December, 2020 was only about Tk 12 crore. However, disbursement picked up pace between January and March this year when loans of around Tk 130 crore were disbursed, the minister told the inaugural ceremony of a two-day international conference on the reintegration of returnee migrants.
Disastrous impact of COVID-19 on Bangladeshi migrant workers
Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Middle East and other regions have been hard hit by COVID-19 deaths and job losses as well as government and employer harassment in the countries where they are working. Those who have managed to return to Bangladesh are confronted with starvation, indebtedness and other miseries.
More than 10 million Bangladeshis, or about one in every 20 people from the country, are migrant workers. Bangladesh is sixth highest in the list of countries that send their workers overseas. More than three million are employed in the Middle East, including nearly two million in Saudi Arabia.
Ensure access to justice for Bangladeshi migrant workers
Institutional mechanisms must make the labour recruitment process more transparent and accountable
Illustration: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo
Bangladesh is one of the top labour sending countries of the world. In the last decade, the number of Bangladeshis migrating abroad for employment has increased almost 100 times since the mid-1970s, when labour migration to the Gulf region commenced. Migrant workers have not only been contributing to the country s foreign exchange reserves, they alleviate the pressure to create local employment opportunities for the tens of thousands of people that enter the job market in Bangladesh each year. A number of studies have highlighted how migration not only contributes to the economic wellbeing of the members of migrant households, it also develops their human potential through access to nutrition, healthcare and education. With increases in purchasing power, migrant households also generate dem
Editorial
Govt. has the chance to play a historic role
File photo of migrants gathering at the Biman Bangladesh Airlines office in Chattogram for return plane tickets to the Middle East, in August 2020. Photo: Rajib Raihan
We agree with the Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants (BCSM) that the government should develop a common guideline for case evaluation of migrant workers whom host countries have sent back involuntarily. The Covid-19 crisis has exposed just how vulnerable our migrant workers are and how terribly they are neglected during a time of major crisis, even though they too were adversely affected perhaps even more so, being stuck in a foreign country under harsh conditions, or being forcefully sent back home without having their dues paid.
Raheed EjazDhaka
Rohingya exodus from their homeland, making their way to Bangladesh Reuters
Saudi Arabia has taken a hard line regarding 55,000 Rohingyas living in the kingdom. They say these Rohingyas must be provided with Bangladeshi passports or face deportation. Since the situation has worsened, The Bangladesh government is considering passports for a section of the Rohingyas as a solution for the time being. A full list of those Rohingyas will be sought from the Saudi authorities, sources said.
An inter-ministerial committee has been formed recently to tackle the problem. It held the third meeting last week with foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen in the chair. The meeting discussed the ways on how to resolve the deteriorating situation. Representative from different ministries including foreign, home, and expatriate welfare and oversees, joined the meeting.