Migration or human trafficking: Easing the immigration process

One of the burning issues these days concerns human trafficking/migration. From July, 2014 up to March 2015, Bangladesh has received USD11.26 millions in remittances from migrants (Source: Bangladesh Bank) and with the current economic conditions, it can be expected that remittances will soon rise to 11.0 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). From a study conducted by the BRAC Research and Evaluation Division on BRAC's Migration Programme, we find that migration attracts age cohort of 21-30 years especially while migrating individuals are mostly married (61.0 per cent) and on an average they are educated up to secondary school level(51.0 per cent). Despite their immense contribution to our economy, development of effective governance for efficient procedures of migration has still a long way to go.
Since 2012, 87,000 Bangladeshis have migrated (Source: UN Refugee Agency) and not all had the privilege to travel in smooth conditions. It has been observed that cases of being deceived in both the host country (abroad) and the country of origin (own country) are rising sharply. International Maritime Organization (IMO) officials have said that those who are migrating illegally do not provide the government with any information and therefore we only know about their experience when they report. Our research suggests that there is a lack of knowledge and awareness among these migrants in preparation of passport, visa, government registration, work permit and other necessary documents for migration. It was found that only 28.0 per cent of migrants have valid passports and 10.0 per cent had undergone government registration. Most of these migrants are heavily relying on family members, relatives and friends for migrating abroad (51.0 per cent). Reliance on brokers and agencies, mostly middleman, is also quite high (31.0 per cent), whereas the use of government arrangements is the lowest (18.0 per cent). Two main challenges for the aspiring migrants are lack of information (30.0 per cent) and financial limitation (25.0 per cent). Reliance on middlemen was found to be the main cause of being deceived (67.0 per cent). Even after being deceived most migrants take no action (85.0 per cent), very few go for alternative dispute resolution/shalish (11.0 per cent) and those who go to the courts are almost negligible (1.0 per cent). Hence it can be deduced that lack of knowledge, awareness and too much reliance on middlemen are the main reasons for being deceived both in the host country and the country of origin.
Recently Malaysia has become a popular destination for migrants. Bangladesh and Malaysia governments signed a government to government level (G2G) pact for safer migration, but due to time-consuming administrative practices, the actual number of labour exported officially is lower than that which the Malaysian labour market demands. Coupled with excess demand for labour, lower transport cost and relative comfort of travelling attracts Bangladeshis to Malaysia. As a result, illegal methods of human trafficking continued to grow at 61.0 per cent particularly from 2013 to 2014 (United Nations High Commission for Refugee). The migrants are generally asked to pay BDT 2,00,000-2,50,000 to the middlemen. Those who are abducted against their will are kept as hostages in deep forests of Shongkhla, Thailand, in very poor conditions until the family of the kidnapped pays the ransom money. Only a lucky few get to return home in this way after the kidnappers receive the ransom and those who cannot afford to pay the same die in misery or live for days together without food and water. Ultimately, what happened to them remained unknown until the mass graves along the border region between Thailand and Malaysia was excavated. So the question that still remains unanswered is, why are so many people are desperate to go despite being deceived/victimized by human trafficking agents? During the group discussions held for the purpose of our Migration Study at BRAC, the respondents mentioned that when interested migrants are deceived by middlemen and as lose money, it puts pressure on the individuals since most of them have to arrange funds by selling their land and other assets or by borrowing from family and friends. In order to compensate for the loss, these deceived individuals are willing to try migrating repeatedly and accept jobs which they otherwise would not have accepted. There are several reasons behind migration. The first is unemployment. After graduation, only a limited number of graduates manage to get a job. Another reason for migrating abroad is a desire to raise their status. Our research suggests that 71.0 per cent of the migrants migrate to increase their income and some others (20.0 per cent) to uplift their status for future development.
Undoubtedly, Bangladesh government has a major role in easing the immigration process and it has been noted that the government managed to regularise the status of 0.65 million undocumented Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia and over 0.8 million workers in Saudi Arabia. Yet, to raise general consciousness we need to supplement government actions with efforts from the civil society. BRAC has undertaken a project titled 'Safe Migration Facilitation Programme' which works with potential and returning workers with special emphasis on women and youth, and provides information on the safe migration process, relevant laws and rights, legal support, and social arbitration. The project also focuses on integration of returnee migrants' socio-economic status in the mainstream development process of Bangladesh. Safe Migration Forums (people's organizations) are formed within the programme areas to ensure rights through social participation. The project raises public awareness and policy advocacy on the issue through mobilizing the media. Currently, the project is working with nearly 3.4 million workers. The impact of this intervention on smoothing migration process still remains to be examined.

The writers work at the Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC.