Bangladesh must be built as a migration destination: Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad
Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram has said migration does not only mean money sent from abroad; people's rights, dignity and security are tied to it. He said the hardship and endless suffering of ordinary citizens lie hidden behind this remittance.
He made the remarks as chief guest on Wednesday at a programme titled 'Inauguration of the Caucus on Migration, Rights and Development', organised by the WARBE Development Foundation at The Westin Dhaka hotel in the capital.
The Speaker said people must become conscious about reducing the suffering of Bangladesh's migrant workers. He noted that women workers face indescribable hardship in migration destinations.
He said that alongside implementing the migration policy through enforcement of existing laws, discussions must be held with destination countries to protect the interests of migrant workers.
Freedom fighter Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said Bangladesh must be built as a migration destination.
The Speaker said that during the rule of the past autocratic government, sending workers abroad involved excessive cost. He noted that due to mismanagement in sending workers and the dominance of brokers, sending workers abroad had remained suspended in significant numbers in recent years.
He also said that through this all-party caucus, members of parliament would assist in sending workers abroad and directly supervise the proper implementation of migration law at field level.
Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal said at the programme that remittance sent by expatriate workers is the driving force of the economy. He noted that expatriate workers have long faced oppression and exploitation in migration destinations, and said steps must be taken through diplomatic missions to protect migrant workers' rights.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid Islam and State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare Md Nurul Haque also spoke at the programme. Parliamentary caucus president ABM Mosharraf Hossain and caucus secretariat president Syed Saiful Haque gave welcome speeches, and caucus secretary general Mahmuda Habiba gave the inaugural speech.
Panel discussants emphasised safe migration for expatriates and their psychosocial and socioeconomic protection. The programme also called for the foreign ministry and home ministry to work through a coordinated plan to implement the government's migration policy in order to stop human trafficking.
