Need to empower workers with skills

Human trafficking is like a societal cancer that not only jeopardises the lives of individuals but also the prospects of their families and tarnishes the country's image, said Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen yesterday.

Bangladeshis are one of the top ten nationals who crossed the Mediterranean during 2014-2022, and such statistics goes against the achievements of Bangladesh, he said.

He made the remarks while interacting with journalists at a workshop on media and migration, organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at a Dhaka hotel yesterday.

"We need to empower our workers with skills. If not, there are more scope for abuses," he said, calling on journalists to play a role in creating awareness and changing policies.

He said there were requests from some Bangladeshis in a few European countries for lowering their ages in passports, as migrants under 18 in those countries are provided special privileges.

"However, we cannot do it because, though we know it can help some individuals, it will in the long run affect the larger Bangladeshi community. The ranking of our passport may also go down," Momen said.

He said Italy and Greece are hiring workers from Bangladesh and more European countries may follow their examples. Therefore, malpractice by a few individuals cannot jeopardise the overall improvement of the sector.

Former foreign secretary Shahidul Haque said while there are socio-economic factors for migration, climate change and conflicts are becoming major reasons for migration recently.

EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley said EU is working on finding legal migration pathways for Bangladeshis, alongside other nationalities.

It has been supporting and will continue to do so to Bangladesh to improve migration governance and reintegration efforts as it is doing under the Standard Operating Procedures now under the project PROTTASHA.

IOM Bangladesh Chief of Mission Abdusattor Esoev and Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh President Rezaul Karim Lotus also spoke.