Why rural Bangladesh remains vulnerable to irregular migration

In last two months more than 300 Bangladeshi nationals returned home from Libya under a voluntary repatriation was carried out with the cooperation of the Libyan government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through coordinated efforts by the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.

Most had travelled through irregular routes after being promised jobs and a better future abroad. Instead, they faced abduction, exploitation, detention, extortion, and in some cases, death.

For many families in rural Bangladesh, migration is not simply a choice, it is a survival strategy. In villages across the country, parents sell land, families take loans, and young people leave home believing that migration will bring financial stability and dignity.

But for thousands of Bangladeshis, that journey begins not with safety and opportunity, but with deception.

Behind these incidents are stories that rarely reach public attention.

One such story is that of Kalam. Like many young Bangladeshis, Kalam wanted to improve his family's future. The formal channels were unknown to him. He was introduced by relatives to a person who promised work in Libya and eventual entry into Europe.

Trusting those assurances, he and his brother-in-law paid nearly Tk 18 lakh through informal arrangements.

Their journey took them through Libya.

But instead of employment, they found themselves trapped by traffickers. Their passports were confiscated, and they were repeatedly moved between houses where additional money was demanded from their families.

Eventually, they were forced onto an overcrowded boat crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

During the journey, Kalam's brother-in-law became critically ill. There was no medical support, no protection, and no authority to turn to. Hours later, he died on the boat.

Kalam eventually returned to Bangladesh with support from IOM after enduring months of abuse, detention, and ransom demands. His story reflects a painful reality faced by many Bangladeshis who attempt irregular migration routes each year.

The question is: why do so many people continue to fall into these traps despite repeated tragedies?

The answer lies partly in the absence of accessible and trusted migration support at the community level.

In many rural areas, potential migrants rely almost entirely on local dalals for information and guidance. These informal brokers promise "easy" migration routes to Europe or the Middle East, often convincing families that formal migration procedures are too slow, expensive, or unnecessary. Many migrants leave home without verifying visas, contracts, or recruitment agencies because they simply do not know where to seek reliable information.

Although Bangladesh has strengthened migration governance at the national level, the reality in rural communities tells a different story. The Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, through the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), continues to play a vital role in promoting safe migration through its four Divisional Employment and Manpower Offices and 64 District Employment and Manpower Offices.

However, for many people living in remote villages, these services remain distant and difficult to access. In the very communities where migration decisions are made, often around family discussions, local brokers, and financial desperation, government guidance is frequently absent.

With only a limited number of officials serving entire districts, it is nearly impossible to effectively support thousands of aspiring migrants spread across multiple upazilas and unions. This institutional gap leaves vulnerable people dependent on informal (dalals) for information, documentation, and overseas job arrangements.

And where institutional presence becomes weak, traffickers and smuggling networks find space to operate openly, turning people's dreams for a better future into pathways of exploitation.

At the same time, recruitment methods are changing rapidly. Traffickers now use Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, and YouTube to target unemployed youth with misleading success stories and false promises.

As deception becomes more digital and sophisticated, vulnerable communities are becoming even harder to protect.

Bangladesh now needs to move beyond reactive responses and invest in prevention at the grassroots level.

One of the most effective steps could be the establishment of dedicated migration support officials at the upazila level under the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment. These officials could serve as accessible local points for safe migration guidance, verification of recruiters and job offers, awareness campaigns, complaint referrals, and community engagement.

Such a system would bring public service access closer to the people most vulnerable to irregular migration. It would also reduce dependence on informal brokers who currently dominate migration decisions in many communities.

Safe migration awareness should become part of regular community outreach through educational institutions, local government institutions, youth groups, and religious leaders. Families need accurate information before they make life-changing decisions involving loans, land sales, and risky migration journeys.

Bangladesh has continued to strengthen its engagement on migration governance at the international level.

During the International Migration Review Forum 2026 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment urged stronger global cooperation to protect migrant rights, reduce migration costs, strengthen accountability, and curb irregular migration through a "whole-of-government and whole-of-society" approach.

Likewise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed Bangladesh's "zero tolerance" stance against trafficking syndicates operating along the deadly Bangladesh–Libya–Italy corridor.

These commitments matter.

Labour migration remains one of Bangladesh's economic lifelines, sustaining millions of households and fueling the country's economy through remittances.

But behind every remittance figure lies another reality; families selling land, borrowing money, and risking everything; for the promise of a better future.

And despite international pledges, high-level forums, and repeated crackdowns, the same ruthless trafficking networks continue to prey on desperation in villages across the country.

The tragedy is that migrants are too often protected only after they disappear into detention camps in Libya, become stranded in foreign lands, or are pulled from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean. By then, the damage has already been done.

Real protection must begin long before migrants reach the sea, in the villages, unions, and upazilas where migration dreams are shaped, false promises spread freely, and traffickers quietly win people's trust.

Until safe migration governance truly reaches the grassroots, irregular migration networks will continue to thrive in the shadows, and countless more Bangladeshi families will continue to pay for that failure with their savings, their dignity, and far too often, their lives.

Md Shihabul Hossain. Photo: Courtesy

The writer is a development professional. He works for the BRAC Migration Programme as a deputy manager (operations). He can be reached at: shihabul.hossain@brac.net

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.