No going abroad by sea

Although there is no legal way to go abroad by the sea, it is often seen that many people die while attempting to go to Europe by boat via the sea.

It must be remembered that there is no legal opportunity to go abroad except through the airports in Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet.

Despite this, many fall into the clutches of brokers and resort to illegal means to go to Europe via the sea.

As a result, they fall into the trap of human traffickers and become victims of torture. There is no alternative but to be aware of these issues.

Speakers discussed these matters yesterday, Saturday at a roundtable meeting organised jointly by Prothom Alo and BRAC with the support of the European Union.

The meeting started at 10:30am and continued until 1:30pm. The roundtable meeting titled ''Dream or Death Voyage? Our Responsibilities'' was held at the Grand Sylhet Hotel and Resort near Sylhet Airport.

In his speech as the chief guest, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury said that soon after taking office, he visited Malaysia and heard about the bitter experiences of migrants being deceived there.

A strong mafia syndicate or group has emerged both at home and abroad, he said, trapping ordinary people in a web of deceit.

The current government has declared a zero-tolerance policy against this syndicate, the minister added.

Ariful Haque Choudhury further stated that the government is emphasising training to send skilled workers to foreign markets.

In particular, plans are being made to bring language teachers of N4 or N5 standards (Japanese language proficiency tests) for the Japanese labour market, he added.

The Expatriates' Welfare Minister disclosed that strict measures are being taken to stop the dominance of brokers.

He mentioned that the government is working on creating a system to protect people from being defrauded by paying brokers in cash.

There are plans to introduce a ''Migrant Card'' through discussions with the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, enabling expatriates to receive assistance through a specific system instead of cash transactions.

At the beginning of the meeting, Shariful Islam Hasan, Associate Director of BRAC's Migration Programme, presented the concept paper.

He stated that people from specific regions of the country, such as Madaripur, Shariatpur, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, and Kishoreganj, are taking the most risks to cross the sea.

BRAC is working at three levels to ensure safe migration. Over the past eight years, BRAC has assisted nearly 39,000 people at airports, providing financial and psychological counseling to returnees from Europe to start businesses.

Shariful Islam suggested making technical education mandatory to develop expatriates into qualified human resources in the future and incorporating issues of safe migration and trafficking prevention into textbooks.

Sylhet Divisional Commissioner Khan Md Reza-un-Nabi mentioned in his speech that going abroad illegally is extremely risky. In Libya, people are subjected to inhumane torture, and the videos are shown to relatives to extort money. It's essential to involve the Islamic Foundation and Imams in creating public awareness on these issues.

During the roundtable meeting, several returnees shared their experiences. Additionally, family members of two aspiring migrants from Sunamganj, who died in a boat while going from Libya to Greece, spoke about their experiences and the harassment they faced through brokers.

Sujan Mia, who returned to the country after traveling to nearly 25 countries from France, said he initially went to the Middle East. After traveling through nearly 25 countries to reach France illegally, he was detained by police before legalising his status and had to return to the country. After returning, he spent Tk 1.7 million to obtain an Australian visa, but he is unable to use the visa, suspecting it to be fake.

Shahriar Zaman, who returned after living in the UK for 10 years, mentioned that he went to the UK for education through a broker.

He stayed there for about eight years. Though the brokers initially promised that he could work legally while studying, he found no such opportunity there. Instead, he had to work illegally, earning only one pound per hour while others earned eight pounds.

Ruksana Begum, a resident of Bishwanath upazila in Sylhet who returned from Saudi Arabia, said she went to Saudi Arabia through a broker. She wasn't given any permanent work there, and she suffered various forms of abuse while staying in Saudi Arabia. She returned to the country about two years ago and is currently running a shop with BRAC's assistance.

Md Hafiz Ahmed, Director of Sylhet Osmani International Airport, stated that appropriate training, registration, and monitoring systems should be followed to stop this dangerous death journey for going abroad.

7 APBN Assistant Police Superintendent Jony Lal Deb, stationed at Sylhet Osmani International Airport, mentioned that there is an active group of human traffickers and smugglers in the airport-related area, trying to mislead ordinary passengers in various ways. They are working to identify these criminal groups.

Sylhet District Press Club President Muktabis Un Nur mentioned that many female workers are subjected to sexual harassment and greed in the Middle East, which has resulted in several countries already halting the sending of female workers to the Middle East. Bangladesh should consider this issue seriously as well.

Sylhet Press Club General Secretary Mohammad Nasiruddin emphasised the need to identify and punish brokers to prevent illegal overseas journeys.

Sylhet District Employment and Manpower Office Assistant Director Md Nazmus Saqib, Sylhet Government Technical Training Centre Senior Instructor Zakir Hossain, Sylhet Divisional Passport and Visa Office Deputy Director Md Salah Uddin, Expatriates' Welfare Bank Sylhet Acting Regional Head Mahbubul Mannan Chowdhury, BRAC's Migration Programme Senior Manager Md Sajjad Hossain, Coordinator Md Harun Or Rashid, and Alamgir Hossain, among others, spoke at the roundtable meeting moderated by Prothom Alo's Assistant Editor Firoz Choudhury.

The introductory speech was delivered by Prothom Alo Sylhet's Special Correspondent Suman Kumar Dash.