TBS journalist wins Brac Migration Media Award

Masum Billah, a staff feature writer of The Business Standard, won the Brac Migration Media Award on Sunday.

Masum Billah, a staff feature writer of The Business Standard, won the Brac Migration Media Award on Sunday.

His story "Sold in Cambodia: How Bangladeshis are lured into slavery" was awarded the second prize in the "National Newspaper" category at the eighth annual award ceremony.

The story was about several Bangladeshi migrant workers being conned and sold into cyber scams in disguise of lucrative office jobs in Cambodia. Bangladeshi agents in Phnom Penh sold them to a third group who ran the cyber scam rackets.

Their passports were seized while they were forced into the online scams without pay. While the lucky few got their freedom back and returned to Bangladesh after paying their captors a hefty amount, many suffered months in slavery.  

Some 14 journalists and a media organisation received the prestigious award this year.

The Daily Samakal's Abu Jar Ansar Uddin Ahmed won first prize in the "National Newspaper" category and Dainik Bangla's Jasmine Akhtar won third prize.

The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam graced the event at Brac Centre as chief guest and Ayesha Haq, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, as special guest. The event was presided over by Asif Saleh, Executive Director of Brac.

Brac introduced the "Brac Migration Media Award" in 2015 to formally recognise migration journalism. In continuation of this, the "Brac Migration Media Award" was presented for the eighth time to inspire journalists because Brac believes that the role of the media in protecting the rights of migrant workers and their families, who have contributed significantly to the development and prosperity of the country, is undeniable.