Sea-route migration must be stopped, says Nurul Hoque

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Md Nurul Hoque on Thursday called for immediate steps to stop the growing trend of irregular migration by sea routes from Bangladesh to Europe and other countries, describing the practice as extremely dangerous. 

He urged both public awareness and proactive involvement of law enforcement agencies to kerb the trend.

"The tendency of undertaking risky sea-route migration must be stopped. Those who are pushing young people towards risky migration and death at sea will face government action," he said.

The state minister made the remarks while addressing a national workshop as the chief guest, organised by the BRAC Migration Programme.

The event titled "From Return to Rise: Stories of Resilience and Reintegration" was held at a hotel in the capital.

Nurul Haque said the experiences of returnee migrants, supported by the European Union and BRAC, were inspiring. The Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment has also been implementing support programmes for returnee migrants through the project.

"We want to take more sustainable initiatives for the welfare of returnee migrants in the coming days because the country's economy runs on the hard-earned remittances sent by expatriates. Therefore, we must stand beside them," he added.

The state minister said while thousands of crores of taka are wasted or misappropriated, the economy is being strengthened by the sweat and labour of migrant workers. 

"We also need to think why enough emphasis was not given earlier on reintegration and rehabilitation of these people. The government wants to stand by them," he said.

Additional Secretary of the Ministry Saiful Haque Chowdhury, Wage Earners' Welfare Board Director General Md Asaduzzaman, and Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lokman Hossain, along with representatives of various local and international organizations, were present.