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Expats Demand Stronger Rights and Protections for Bangladeshi Migrants
Representational photo
Bangladeshi expatriates have presented a 15-point demand to the government, urging immediate measures to ensure dignity, protection, and fair treatment for migrant workers both at home and abroad.
The demands were unveiled at a press conference held at the ERF auditorium in Dhaka on Saturday, jointly organised by Jatiya Tarun Sangha, Worldwide Kaba Foundation, and Europe Expatriate Bangladeshi.
Syed Riaz, a foreign investment analyst speaking on behalf of Bangladeshi migrants in Europe, highlighted the crucial economic role of expatriates, noting that Bangladesh received a record $30 billion in remittances last fiscal year, covering nearly 45 per cent of import payments and boosting foreign reserves. “Migrants are the backbone of our economy. Yet, they face harassment, neglect, and bureaucratic hurdles at home and abroad. This cannot continue,” he said.
He called for swift government action, warning that ignoring migrants’ rights amounts to a betrayal of the nation. “Their contributions have kept our economy afloat,” Riaz added.
The demands presented by expatriates focus on improving institutional support from embassies and government agencies. They include establishing 24/7 hotlines and help desks at embassies, faster passport renewals and certificate services, non-partisan embassy services free from middlemen, fast-track immigration counters at airports, and district-level migrant service centres across the country.
To ensure financial security and incentives for migrants, the expatriates proposed a minimum 5 per cent incentive on remittance transfers, easy loans for returning migrants, inclusion in government pension schemes, and preferential opportunities for migrant families in employment and economic programmes.
The press conference was attended by Md Fazlul Haque, founder and chairman of Jatiya Tarun Sangha; Osman Gani Kamal, a Greece-based expatriate businessman; and Md Mezbaul Islam, a Singapore-based businessman, among others.