Major Middle East labour markets shrink, fraud in the name of new markets

Last year, Jahangir Alam of Lakshmipur was sent to Russia with the promise of a job as a cook in a cantonment. But instead of preparing food, he was sent directly to the battlefield to fight against Ukraine.

Jahangir returned home seven months later through the Bangladesh embassy. He told Prothom Alo that he was initially handed a weapon without any training. Later, in one day, he was taught how to operate it. There were 16 of them at the war camp. He spent his days in fear after four of them were killed. He spent two months in hospital after falling ill. He escaped from there and returned home through the embassy.

Russia has never been a major labour market for Bangladesh. Unskilled Bangladeshi workers mainly go to Middle Eastern countries. Many also used to go to Malaysia. Those who are more financially well-off go to European countries. But in recent years, many people have been going to countries such as Russia and Cambodia. Many of them fall victim to fraud after arriving there.

Meanwhile, many people die every year after travelling to European countries through illegal routes. Bangladeshis are among them. Yet people continue to undertake such journeys, spending thousands of taka.

Analysts say some of Bangladesh’s major labour markets, such as Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Bahrain, have remained closed for a long time or the number of workers going there has declined. The problem is not new, it has persisted for several years.

The BNP government is trying to reopen Malaysia’s labour market. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman visited Malaysia in June this year. The country recently announced that it would reopen its labour market. However, it has not yet reopened. Bangladesh is also unable to send a sufficient number of workers to European countries. This is a major reason behind the growing interest among workers in going to high-risk countries.

According to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), 12,263 Bangladeshis obtained clearance to travel to Cambodia in 2025. The country rose to eighth place among Bangladesh’s overseas labour markets in 2025. A total of 4,727 Bangladeshis went to the Russian Federation. Russia ranked 13th. In 2025, more Bangladeshis went to Russia than to countries such as Malaysia, South Korea and Lebanon.

Overall, the number of Bangladeshi workers going abroad is declining. According to BMET, around 500,000 workers obtained clearance to go abroad in the first eight months of this year (January-August). During the same period last year, the number was around 740,000. That means the number of workers receiving clearance has declined by around 140,000 this year.

Ali Haider Chowdhury, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), told Prothom Alo that the labour markets in the UAE and Qatar have shrunk, while Malaysia’s is closed. As there are also not enough jobs in the country, many people are being deceived while trying to go abroad by any means, and cases of human trafficking are occurring. He claimed that 70 per cent of workers are going to Saudi Arabia on short-term contracts. Many of them do not find jobs after arriving there.

Ali Haider Chowdhury further said that trafficking and fraud will not decline unless closed labour markets are reopened and new markets are created. The government and private sector must work together in this sector.

Bangladesh started sending workers abroad in 1976. The trend began to grow significantly in the 1990s. Meanwhile, from 2021 to 2025, the average annual number of workers sent abroad exceeded one million. The highest number of workers in history went abroad in 2023, when more than 1.3 million workers left the country. No matter how large the number is, the list of young people interested in going abroad has never become shorter.

A large proportion of Bangladesh’s young people have been able to change their fortunes by going abroad, while the money they send home has helped increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Over the past five fiscal years, Bangladeshis have sent home an average of $26.49 billion in foreign currency annually. Bangladesh ranks seventh in the world in terms of remittances.

The migration of young people abroad is considered an important means of reducing poverty and expanding the domestic market.

The problem is that for decades, the labour market has remained limited to a handful of countries. An analysis of data from the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment shows that workers were sent to a total of 203 countries over the 15-year period from January 2011 to December 2025. More than 11 million workers went abroad during this period. Nearly 79 per cent of them went to just five countries. Overall, 94 per cent of workers went to 10 countries.

The countries at the top of the overseas employment list include Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and the Maldives. All are Asian countries, seven of which are in the Middle East. Over the 15-year period, it was not possible to send even 100 workers to each of 98 countries. Although many of these countries have strong economies and demand in their labour markets.

Dependence on labour markets concentrated in a few specific countries has now created a complex situation. The markets in some of those countries have shrunk, or sending workers there has stopped for various reasons.

More than 350,000 workers went to Malaysia for jobs in 2023. However, the country’s labour market was closed in June 2024 due to irregularities. More than 125,000 workers went to Oman in 2023. The labour market there has effectively been closed since 2024.

Around 100,000 workers went to the United Arab Emirates in 2023. In 2024, 47,000 workers went to the country. In 2025, the number fell to 13,750. In other words, the flow of Bangladeshi workers to the country has almost stopped.

Bangladeshis have also been unable to go to Bahrain for a long time. Exports to Lebanon have declined. Israel has been carrying out attacks in the country for a long time.

For the past few years, employment opportunities have been growing only in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Preparations for building football infrastructure have begun in the country. This has created demand for unskilled workers. However, recruiting agencies say the upward trend may not continue from next year.

More than 625,000 Bangladeshis went to Saudi Arabia for work in 2024. Last year, the number increased to more than 755,000. However, around 215,000 workers went there in the first six months of this year. In other words, the number is declining. There have been complaints of Bangladeshi workers not getting jobs in Saudi Arabia according to their contracts. There are not enough jobs there compared with the rate at which workers are going.

Asked about reopening closed labour markets, State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haque told Prothom Alo that work is underway to identify where new labour markets can be opened in addition to existing ones. Talks are underway to create more employment opportunities for Bangladeshi citizens in labour markets such as Oman and the United Arab Emirates, which were previously major markets but have shrunk because of the previous "fascist" government.

Mentioning various government initiatives, Nurul Haque said the government’s election pledge was to create 10 million jobs outside the country. The government is working to implement that pledge.

Fraud in the name of sending workers to new labour markets is increasing. For example, Bangladeshis are recruited to Cambodia in the name of call centre jobs. They are then forced to carry out online scams. Following international pressure, the country’s law enforcement agencies recently raided and shut down these "scam centres". As a result, 646 Bangladeshi workers returned home in June alone. More are returning every day, while many others are waiting to come back.

People involved in the sector say Cambodia’s economy is not better than Bangladesh’s. Job opportunities there are limited. Yet workers are still sent there for scam centres. After being sent to Russia, some have managed to escape from the battlefield. Some are even dying there. Others are sending messages pleading to be brought back home.

Two organisations, Bangkok-based Fortify Rights and Ukraine-based Truth Hounds, said in March that 34 of more than 100 Bangladeshi youths who had joined the war in Ukraine on behalf of Russia had been killed by then.

Meanwhile, lured by the prospect of a better life, Bangladeshis are travelling to Libya through different countries in an attempt to reach Italy. After arriving there, they fall victim to fraud and face torture, with some being forced to pay ransom. Some then die while risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea, while others manage to reach Italy.

In 2025, 66,316 people from different countries reached Italy by crossing the Mediterranean. Of them, 1,126 went missing or died at sea. Until June this year, 14,194 people had reached Italy through this route. Bangladeshis accounted for the largest share, 32 per cent, or 3,691 people. Although only 100 people obtained clearance to travel to Libya last year and 63 this year, these workers are travelling to Libya through other countries, including Middle Eastern countries.

Fraud is also regularly taking place in the name of jobs in several European countries. Workers who have been deceived in different countries return home and file human trafficking cases. In some cases, families of expatriates who have died abroad also file cases. The number of human trafficking cases is increasing every year.

According to data from the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (THB) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police, 1,657 people were accused in 536 cases filed between 2018 and 2025. However, only 353 of them could be arrested.

Data from the Ministry of Home Affairs shows that 94-95 per cent of the accused in 4,427 cases filed under the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act over five years (2020-24) were acquitted. Experts believe human trafficking cannot be stopped because traffickers are not being brought to justice and punished.

The private organisation Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), which works on migration sector, says India has 192 recruiting agencies, Pakistan has 464, Nepal has 416, and Sri Lanka has 248. When the number is lower, it is easier to monitor them. In Bangladesh, the number of agencies had previously been limited to between 850 and 900. The previous Awami League government increased the number to nearly 2,400. Last year, the interim government approved licences for 252 new agencies.

In total, 2,646 agencies have obtained licences. Analysts say the number of licensed recruiting agencies needs to be reduced through a systematic process. It should be noted that last July, the BNP government revoked the licences of 49 recruiting agencies after the charge sheet in a case filed over corruption and irregularities in sending workers to Malaysia was submitted to the court.

The BNP government took office on 12 February amid various problems in the migration sector. In its election manifesto, the party pledged to send 10 million workers abroad within five years, as well as to eliminate fraud and suffering and expand opportunities for skilled workers to obtain international certification.

Migration sector expert Asif Munir told Prothom Alo that there is indifference towards sending workers abroad in accordance with the rules, and this has not stopped. The government is responsible for approving clearances. What is the need to send workers to countries where appointment letters cannot be verified? How are clearances being issued for countries such as Russia and Cambodia? He said the government must demonstrate the implementation of what is stated in its manifesto. The government’s mindset needs to change, otherwise migrant workers themselves will suffer.

Many people are becoming victims. An idea of how many workers are returning after being deceived in various countries, including Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Russia and Libya, can be obtained from the number of travel passes issued. Airport sources say 15,245 people returned with travel passes, or travel permits, in the first three months of this year. Another 8,215 returned in April alone.

These workers, who have lost everything and no longer have their passports, are detained by police and return home with travel passes. Last Tuesday, a group of Bangladeshis returned home with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) after spending time in captivity in Libya. Among them was a young man named Mashiur Rahman from Madaripur. He said he had left his own food-hotel business to try to go to Italy. After losing Tk 3.2 million, he managed to return home somehow with his life.

Mashiur’s relatives were waiting for him at home, but he had only one concern: What will he tell his creditors?