Reduce migration cost

In view of the prevailing unemployment situation in the country many unskilled and semi skilled Bangladeshis sail abroad in search of job. They have to undergo a cumbersome and complicated process in the country. Poor migrant workers have to pay a huge amount to the agents. There is no one to save the poor people from the torture of the manpower agents. Remittances sent by Bangladeshi workers have been playing a vital role to sustain our country's economy. We should salute those sons of the soil as they work very hard and contribute robustly to our economy. Instead of appreciation they become victim of much harassment. On an average each worker has to pay almost 150 hundred thousand taka to get a job abroad. It takes two years for a worker recover his initial invest. Although the government fixed a much lesser amount but it is not being followed. Compared to the migration cost of other South Asian countries Bangladeshi workers are paying much higher migration cost. The Government should take a serious look into the whole process and remove hindrance, complexity and corruption. This is the least we could do for our brothers and sisters who work in a foreign land leaving their near and dear ones far away.

Mohammed Sohel Hara
Adamjee Export Processing Zone, Narayanganj
E-mail: sohelhara@hotmail.com