INTRODUCTION
Many Bangladeshi nationals migrate abroad for work, mainly driven by a lack of job opportunities and/or gainful employment (IOM, 2020). Between 1976 and 2020, approximately 13 million Bangladeshi nationals have left the country to find overseas employment and send remittances back home (BMET, 2020). In 2020, remittances to Bangladesh totalled 21,752.27 million USD (BMET, 2020). The primary countries of destination are located in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as South East Asia (BMET, 2020).
Every year many international migrants return to Bangladesh, however, administrative data on return migrants is not available. Therefore, it is not possible to give a full account of migrant workers who return to Bangladesh each year. Though, last year, due to COVID–19, more than 400,000 migrant workers have returned to Bangladesh between April and December 2020 (IOM, 2021).
Returning to a home country may not be a smooth process as returnees often face several obstacles upon return. In recent years, these challenges have been more widely recognized and awareness has risen that support is needed to address the needs of return migrants and to improve their sustainable reintegration into society (IOM, 2019). According to IOM, “reintegration can be considered sustainable when returnees have reached levels of economic self-sufficiency, social stability within their communities, and psychosocial well-being that allow them to cope with (re)migration drivers. Having achieved sustainable reintegration, returnees are able to make further migration decisions a matter of choice, rather than necessity” (IOM, 2017a, p.3)1 .
In 2020, IOM Bangladesh facilitated the return of 1,446 migrants returning from 22 countries. In the last five years, IOM Bangladesh assisted 4,887 migrants under its Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR)2 and Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR)3 programmes. The returnees supported by these programmes receive assistance upon arrival and are also provided with reintegration assistance to cope with challenges related to return. The top five return countries in the last five years were Libya, Greece,
Germany, Thailand and Italy.
To strengthen the sustainable reintegration of returning migrants, IOM Bangladesh, under the European Union (EU) funded project Prottasha4 , began providing immediate needs assistance after arrival and sustainable and integrated reintegration support to returning migrants mainly from Europe and transit countries. Since its launch in 2017, the project has assisted 1,704 Bangladeshis who have returned to Bangladesh from abroad.
An increasing number of migrants return to their home countries under Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration programmes (IOM, 2016). However, there is little evidence on how migrants who take part in these programmes reintegrate into society, especially on factors that influence sustainable reintegration (IOM, 2020a). Even less research examines reintegration outcomes from a longitudinal perspective. A recent study conducted by IOM to assess the needs and vulnerabilities of migrants who returned to Bangladesh due to COVID-19, highlights a multitude of challenges that migrant workers experience after their return (IOM, 2020b). Therefore, it is important to improve understanding of the reintegration process and the factors that influence reintegration outcomes both in the short and long-term. This could then feed into the design of policies and government programmes that address the immediate needs and challenges of returning migrants, as well as improve reintegration outcomes both in the short- and long-term and eventually increase the positive effects these migrants can have on society.
To improve understanding of return migrants’ profiles, the living conditions of returnees and their reintegration process, IOM, under the European Union (EU) funded project “Displacement Tracking Matrix Regional Evidence for Migration Analysis and Policy (DTM REMAP)”, developed the Returnee Longitudinal Survey (RLS). This survey collects data on the vulnerabilities and needs of returnees, as well as sustainable return and reintegration outcomes in both the short- and long-term. To this end, data is collected over the course of multiple years at regular intervals. The objective of DTM REMAP, which is implemented by DTM at both the regional and country levels, is to strengthen the evidence-based formulation and implementation of humanitarian and development policy and programming on migration and forced displacement in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran (Islamic Republic of),
Iraq and Pakistan through the dissemination of insights gained through DTM’s activities.
This report is the result of the first round of data collection that took place between October 2020 and January 2021, targeting Bangladeshi migrants who returned from Greece and Libya in 2019 and 2020 through IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) and Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programmes. During the data collection period, 636 respondents were interviewed in-person in 17 districts. The purpose of RLS is to strengthen the information-base on the sustainability of reintegration and gaps and needs within Bangladesh for future programming and policy making.
The report is divided into three main sections. The first section gives an overview of the key findings in this report. The second section starts with a description of the methodology and includes the research method, sampling information and limitations. The third section presents the analysis of the data that was collected between October 2020 and January 2021. The analysis of the data is further subdivided into eight thematic sections. The first subsection covers the demographics and socio-economic profiles of the return migrants.
This is followed by a subsection on the employment situation, occupational sector and income status of the returnees (prior to migration, in Greece or Libya and at the time of the interview). The third subsection explores the reasons for migration. The fourth subsection examines the migration journey, including the reasons for migrating to either Greece or Libya. The following subsection dives deeper into the reasons for return.
An additional subsection goes into the challenges that returnees experience after their return to Bangladesh.
Finally, the last two subsections examine prior migration experience and re-migration intentions.
Source: International Organization for Migration