Irregular migration must be stopped: Planning Minister
Mentioning migrants are the main heroes boosting Bangladesh’s economy, Planning Minister MA Mannan on Wednesday asked private recruitment agencies to stop irregular migration.
“Around 80 percent people go abroad through the private recruiting agencies. But then they have to endure inhuman conditions living abroad. They also send money to Bangladesh by saving on their meals. And we enjoy their contribution. Now we have to think newly about them,” the minister said while addressing a debate programme here.
Debate for Democracy and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) jointly organised the debate titled “Not only implementation of law, social awareness can ensure safe migration” marking International Migrants Day 2019 at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation in the city.
The minister said, “Time was when one out of every two Bangladeshis was poor. Now it has come down to one out of every five with the help of the migrants.”
According to the latest data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the poverty rate declined to 20.5 percent in the country at the end of the 2018-19 fiscal, from 21.8 percent a year earlier.
“The extreme poverty rate also came down to 10.5 percent from 11.3 percent during the period (from 2017-18 FY to 2018-19 FY),” it also read.
Mannan said “We want to reach middle income status. Bangladeshi people will go abroad as experts in different sectors not to get third class status there. So administration has to think newly about this.”
He also said now people are going abroad to escape poverty. It’s tough to control irregular migration but the government is working to control it so that remittances are further boosted.
Debate for Democracy Chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron said migrant workers must be protected.
“Migrant women are being assaulted and raped in various ways in different countries. We must ensure their security. So we need to create awareness among people alongside bringing recruitment agencies under law so that migrants are not harassed in future,” he also said.
When it came to the actual debate competition, the team of Lalmatia Mohila College (Lalmatia Girls’ College) won the debate champions’ trophy as ruling party while Government Bangla College became runners up arguing as the opposition.
Additional Secretary of the Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry Dr Ahmed Munirus Salehin and MJF director Rina Ray were part of the program.
