Why irregular migration on the rise

As the market for jobseekers at home and abroad through legal channels has shrunk, the tendency of searching for jobs overseas through irregular channels is increasing day by day. This partly explains the growing humanitarian crisis that has forced thousands of Bangladeshi migrants to flee by sea with the hope of landing in Malaysia. But the government sources responsible for sending economic migrants abroad believe that the enticements on offer from human traffickers plays a significant role in making people choose the far more dangerous illegal channels.
Experts say that due to cutting down on migration from Bangladesh through legal channels by the Middle Eastern countries, poor people have chosen maritime routes to go Malaysia despite risks. Human traffickers have also lured the jobseekers at home to choose the illegal sea route. Thousands of Bangladeshi and Rohingya belonging to Myanmar's Arakan state have landed ashore in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand since May 10, 2015. Thousands more are believed to be trapped at sea, and the United Nations has warned that time to save them is running out.
Indonesia claims that nearly 7,000 people rescued recently by Indonesian fishermen are from Bangladesh, not Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution from Myanmar's Arakan state. On May 24, 2015, a mass grave, believed to have contained nearly 100 Rohingya migrants, was found in Padang Besar, Malaysia. Earlier in the same month, authorities in Thailand found some 30-plus graves suspected to be of trafficked migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh in an abandoned jungle camp.
The Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) at Dhaka maintains that some jobseekers are going abroad illegally despite having the financial capability to avail the legal channels. This must mean the legal channels to go abroad and the employment opportunities at home are unable to accommodate them. This means poor people try to go to Malaysia and Thailand by sea spending Tk 10,000-12,000 each through brokers. They end up being kidnapped by human traffickers and some get killed if their family members fail to pay ransom.
The Welfare Association for the Rights of Bangladeshi Emigrants (WARBE) says, 400,000 people go abroad for jobs from the country every year through legal channels, which is very low compared to the demand in the absence of domestic employment opportunities. Although 100,000 people were supposed to go Malaysia every year, the government so far has only sent some 8,000 people there to work in the plantation sector through government-to-government recruitment arrangements in the last 2-3 years. The WARBE says that despite huge demand for manpower in other sectors in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is not sending demand note due to the "conspiracy of a vested quarter". It says the government is trying to open new labour markets although the old ones remain closed now due to various reasons. It also says that "people must make registration to go abroad for jobs according to government system. Besides, the chances have shrunk to go overseas through recruiting agencies. Many think that they will not win the lottery for going abroad. So the illegal way is the right way for them."
Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) sources say that some illiterate people are choosing the sea-route without  knowing the risks on the Indian Ocean and are eventually getting trapped by human traffickers. It also alleged that a section of government employees is involved in sending them. "Some government employees are associating with traffickers to send them by sea. It would not be possible to go without their assistance. If the government can stop the unfair cooperation of its own employees, the dishonest way will be shut".
BAIRA sources says even though many people are going to the Middle Eastern countries through legal channels, the figures would have been enhanced if the UAE markets were opened, adding that the 7 UAE markets including Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah have remained closed from 2012. It would be possible to reopen the market if the Bangladesh embassies there engage in effective diplomacy to discover the reasons behind the closure followed by steps from the government to address those reasons. It said the Malaysia government only sent demand notes for the plantation sector. If its government sought to meet the demand in other sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors, more Bangladeshi jobseekers would have gotten the opportunity to go there legally.
However, the Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment ministry (EWOEM) says, it is not right that human trafficking is increasing due to the reduction of legal opportunities. "We now send an average five lakh workers abroad every year. We have sent 1.74 lakh people till May this year (2015) and more people will be sent abroad within next seven months", it said, adding, "we send workers legally but it is the duty of the Home Ministry to patrol border areas to stop human trafficking. And we expect that the foreign ministry will take effective steps to mitigate it after it discusses with the authorities concerned of other countries in this regard". The EWOEM sources further said that on an average 2400 workers are being sent to 160 countries everyday, not just to Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
According to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) database, although 2.0 million people have filled up the jobseeker's registration form, it is not possible to send all of them for overseas employment. The biggest labour markets for Bangladesh remain Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, but only 10,000 people were sent to Malaysia in the last three years. Since the reopening of the labour market in Saudi Arabia in February this year (2015), only 3,000 women have registered with the BMET for jobs in Saudi Arabia against the demand for 40,000 workers. Sources at BMET said the government arranged job fairs in 64 districts to meet Saudi demands. The sources said the numbers of overseas employers have increased somewhat in Qatar than before but the figures have reduced in Kuwait, Singapore and Thailand.
It is mentionable that Libya recently halted recruitment of workers from Bangladesh due to human trafficking. The Home Affairs Ministry sources said "we are very serious about preventing human trafficking through waterways. At present, BGB and coast guard remain more widely alert than ever before in border or coastal areas." This Ministry said a process was underway to identify human traffickers. Meanwhile, many of them have been recognised and some were arrested.
On May 20, 2015, responding to the tremendous international pressure, Malaysia and Indonesia finally agreed to offer humanitarian assistance and temporary shelter to 7,000 migrants, including Bangladeshis, stranded at the sea and said they will not turn away migrant vessels. The announcement came in a joint statement read by Malaysian Foreign Minister after a meeting with his counterparts from Indonesia and Thailand. The meeting was held in Malaysia to address the plight of the irregular migrants. A further meeting was held in the Thai capital on May 29, 2015 to address the problem, but no concrete decisions resulted from it.
However, what is needed for Bangladesh to stop illegal migration is to create necessary job opportunities within the country and save millions of people from the misfortune they have been currently thrown into.
The writer is a retired professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre.
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