Bangladeshi migrant workers: Turning the focus to psychosocial issues

Bangladesh has a population of 174 million, according to the United Nations.

As per 2020 estimation research, around 13 million Bangladeshis live abroad in various foreign nations. Bangladesh sent 3.9 million (3,978,562) workers abroad in the last five years (2020-2024).

According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET), it is encouraging that, in 2020, Bangladesh was the sixth largest migrant sending country globally, and the eighth largest remittance receiving country. 

The annual remittances contribute a considerable percentage to Bangladesh's GDP, ranging from 5% to 6%. In 2024, Bangladeshi migrant workers sent a record $26.9 billion in remittances, a 23% increase from the previous year. 

This influx of foreign currency provided a crucial boost to Bangladesh's strained dollar reserves.

Bangladeshi Migrant workers significantly contribute to their home country's economy through remittances, which are a major source of foreign income and account for a substantial portion of Bangladesh's GDP. 

These remittances also play a crucial role in Bangladesh's development by providing a key source of income for families and contributing to various investment and consumption activities.

As a social welfare researcher, I have observed migration issues in Bangladesh. In academia and policy research, we have been focusing on economic issues, remittances, and families' financial upliftment for decades, but we must also consider the other side of these developments.

Now we need to focus on migrant workers' overall lives, including their social and familial aspects.

Wives' and children's psychological, mental, and sociocultural development are often neglected. For example, families of migrant workers face a crisis in raising their children, as only mothers are responsible for parenting.

Due to the lack of a parent's physical presence, migrant families suffer significantly from an emotional capital crisis, which leads to conjugal disharmony, an imbalanced child-parent relationship, and a lack of emotional intelligence in the migrant families.  

Moreover, we should focus on the pre-migration, in-migration, and post-migration challenges faced by migrant workers and their family members in Bangladesh.

They encounter numerous difficulties reintegrating after returning home.

There is a lack of proper attention and policy initiatives from the government, NGOs, and human rights organisations.

Bangladesh should prioritise international and national migration studies.

There are no academic courses at universities that offer migration studies in Bangladesh. As the sixth-largest migrant-sending country, Bangladesh should take the initiative to open academic subjects, diplomas, master's, as well as PhD programs at the reputed universities.

Recently, I learned from the newspaper about the wage earners' centre, which has been established for temporary residential services like hotels. However, it is not receiving sufficient stakeholder engagement.

We suggested to the Bangladesh government to establish an expatriate camp for migrant workers to provide pre-migration training. During my four-year PhD journey in Malaysia, I witnessed that Bangladeshi migrant workers face challenges in coping with their new situations abroad.

I observed that most of the migrant workers come to Malaysia from rural Bangladesh, and some had not even visited the capital city, Dhaka, before their departure.

For valid reasons, I recommend that the government initiate the establishment of a camp where migrant workers will receive basic training about their destination, including its culture, hygiene, traffic system, and language. This training will boost their confidence at the start of their migration journey and support their social and cultural integration into host societies.

Many studies show that Bangladeshi migrant workers bear the highest migration costs in the world. Migration with such a financial burden presents a frustrating challenge that leads to increased stress.

The Bangladesh government and policymakers should not only focus on remittance and economic development but also consider the social, psychological, cultural, and emotional issues that can promote the harmonious development of migrant workers, their families, and both host and destination communities.

Md Mohsin Reza, PhD, is a Professor at the Department of Social Work in Jagannath University. He is a prolific migration scholar. He has research interests in International Migration, Community Well-being, and Social Welfare. His impactful research has garnered continuous citations in scientific journals.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.