In the midst of so much chaos in so many places of the world mostly responsible for driving the European refugee crisis, Bangladesh is now the single largest origin of migrants arriving in Europe. Whereas the biggest sources of migrants previously were war-torn countries like Syria, Afghanistan and others, Bangladesh has, in 2017, shockingly overtaken them all. This, according to a report compiled by The Independent, UK.

Aspiring migrants are reportedly paying over USD 10,000 each to be taken from Dhaka to Dubai or Turkey and onwards to Libya from where they try to make their way into Europe, creating a field day for traffickers who are taking full advantage of the situation to squeeze out every last penny from the migrants. Working hand in gloves with traffickers are unscrupulous officials and others—creating together a powerful nexus—just as intent on exploiting migrants in the most horrific of ways.

Deceived by this powerful nexus, people are risking everything in search of greener pastures only to face further disappointments. And the most significant reason why, is the lack of economic opportunities at home. Why else would migrants spend such hefty sums and risk so much rather than invest their money here? The only logical explanation is that either they see no good prospects at home and are, hence, acting in desperation, or are too gullible to be lured by the recruiters. 

To discourage people from acting in such desperation, more economic opportunities must be created at home. The government also needs to urgently crack down on this nexus between the unscrupulous agents and government officials, particularly at the only formal exit routes i.e. the airports.