Bangladeshi migrants are at risk of abuse after being exiled from the Gulf due to climate change

Climate change forces families abroad to send relatives

Migrants are at risk of sexual abuse, wage denial, and other forms of abuse.

Experts call for better protection in host cities

Tahmid Zami Tahmid Zami

"Vulnerable individuals who are pushed to their limits by climate shocks make a big gamble in order to pay for migration but end up facing abuse," Ritu Bharadwaj said, one of the authors.

The study of Bangladeshi migrants from climate-vulnerable regions who worked in the Gulf revealed that almost all of them had experienced at least one form exploitation, whether it was employer abuse, sexual assault or wage denial.

The International Institute for Environment and Development says that migrants, who are mostly from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman, become trapped in a "modern form of slavery" when they take out loans or sell land to cover the $4,021 required to find work abroad.

The think tank in London spoke with 648 households about the impact of climate change on those living at the frontline.

On the Move

As the world has become warmer, migration has increased in the last two decades, depriving people of a stable life, future, or reliable income.

In the study, it was found that households in disaster-prone areas were twice as likely to relocate within Bangladesh and 1.6 times more likely than those in less dangerous places to do so. In the last decade, 88% of families sent someone overseas. This is up from just 9% in 2001-2010 or 4% in 1990s.

Bangladesh is the seventh most vulnerable nation to climate change. Disasters such as floods and cyclones are increasing in frequency.

Climate-related disasters cost the economy four times more than they did in 1960-1990. They now amount to $558 millions annually.

The study found that this cost each family living in the disaster-prone coastal region more than $870 per year. This leaves families with less money for necessities of life like food, health, and education.

Farmers, fishermen and small business owners were among those most affected. Their livelihoods were often severely impacted, forcing them into seeking out new opportunities.

Take Pirojpur, a district on the southern coast in Bangladesh that has been hit by cyclones and floods.

Abu Musa, a teacher in Dhaka, said that he sent his brother there to work as a guard because the monsoon last year destroyed his family's crops and fishing.

Many people who moved to other cities faced new problems and risks in their new homes, especially those who had relocated abroad.

According to the study, migrants working in the garment and construction industries in large cities are denied compensation for workplace accidents while domestic workers face beatings or inadequate bedding and food.

Bharadwaj said that migrants who move abroad face greater risks because they are forced to recover their high start-up costs.

The study found that employers often confiscate workers' passports, barring them from leaving their workplace, denying the chance for them to contact family or the embassy.

The survey revealed that women suffer the most. More than 80% of respondents reported abuse such as beatings or sexual harassment by their hosts.

Where to turn?

International Labour Organization (ILO) says that as the number of Bangladeshi migrants to Gulf countries reaches millions, embassies struggle to monitor the conditions or to mount rescues.

The sad thing is that when workers are abused, they don't know who to turn to, said Mohammad Rashed Alam Bhuiyan. He is an assistant professor at Dhaka University, studying climate migrants from Bangladesh.

He said that the government could outsource services such as shelter or health care to private organizations.

Md Shamsuddoha of the Center for Participatory Research and Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh, stated that helping communities reduce climate-related losses could also help to reduce the risk of abuse overseas.

He said that if families received early warnings about disasters and cash assistance, they might be better informed, and more likely to remain.

Experts have also pointed out the complex web of brokers who help migrants find work from the Middle East up to Malaysia.

Bharadwaj, from IIED, says that these middlemen are frequently accused of fraud and deceit. This highlights the need to track migrants better.

(source: Reuters)