#illegal Bangladeshi migrants

[townpostin]

Centre Warns of Alarming Bangladeshi Influx in Jharkhand's Santhal Pargana

Solicitor General highlights demographic shift, decline in tribal population percentage The Centre has alerted the Jharkhand High Court about the growing presence of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in the Santhal Pargana region, raising concerns about demographic changes. RANCHI – The Jharkhand High Court was informed by the Centre of the alarming increase in the number of illegal Bangladeshi…

[miamicommune]

feel like starmer talking about bangladeshi migrants is an attempt to hide the fact that a lot of the people being referred to as 'migrants' are actually asylum seekers whom the government are illegally trying to keep out

[beardedmrbean]

With xenophobia rising in South Africa as its economic crisis deepens, Home Office Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has announced plans to toughen asylum and immigration laws in a move that will have far-reaching consequences for foreign nationals who seek political or economic refuge in the country.

His proposals are contained in a document, known as a White Paper, which has been released for public discussion as the first step towards adopting legislation that will mark a decisive break with the more embracing policy that the government - led by the African National Congress (ANC) - championed after it took power at the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.

In a sign of the extent to which he envisages changes, Dr Motsoaledi said the government had made a "serious mistake" about two years later when it signed up to international agreements - such as the UN's refugee convention - without seeking exemptions from certain clauses.

This was unlike many other countries, which opted out of clauses giving asylum-seekers and refugees the same rights as their citizens - including the right to employment and education for their children, he said.

Paddy Harper, a journalist with South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper, said Dr Motsoaledi's proposals were the latest sign that the government believed it went too far after white-minority rule ended.

"South Africa had been a pariah during apartheid, and as the ANC led its integration into the world it opened up the country to immigrants and asylum-seekers, with many coming from other parts of Africa and Asia," Harper told the BBC.

"The ANC government also did this in the interest of pan-African and international solidarity because of the support it received from other countries during the struggle against apartheid," he said.

"The political and economic dynamics have changed considerably since then, which explains the shift in government thinking."

Dr Motsoaledi is also pushing for people to seek asylum in the first safe country they enter, meaning they could be denied asylum if they came via other countries.

His proposal would mostly affect those from other African nations, as they form the bulk of refugees and asylum-seekers fleeing conflict and persecution.

According to the UN, about 250,000 refugees and asylum seekers live in South Africa. These are separate from documented or undocumented foreign nationals in the country for other reasons, including better economic opportunities.

In a paper published in 2021, South African academic Khangelani Moyo said that 25% of the refugees and asylum seekers came from Ethiopia, 23% from the Democratic of Republic of Congo, 11% from Somalia, 10% from Bangladesh and 6% from Zimbabwe.

Harper says the number of refugees and asylum-seekers may be small but it feds into deeper hostility towards foreigners whose population has increased over the last three decades, while South Africa's unemployment rate has soared to around 32%.

"Immigrants - especially Somalis and Bangladeshis - are seen to be controlling the economy of townships, and are accused of taking the jobs of locals. It has led to attacks on migrants, and the emergence of anti-migrant groups, like Operation Dudula," he said.

With this in mind, Harper says that Dr Motsoaledi was looking to next year's elections when he unveiled his proposals.

"Some of the opposition parties are likely to make migration a major campaign issue. The ANC fears losing support, and wants to be seen to be doing something about it, " he said, adding that the governing party's focus on migration also helps deflect attention from its own failures in improving the economy and public services.

In June, senior ANC official Fikile Mbalula described undocumented immigrants as a "ticking timebomb" for South Africa.

"Illegal immigrants put a heavy strain on the fiscus, with adverse effects on service delivery, the overstretched health sector, high unemployment and poverty," he said.

South Africa's latest census recorded more than 2.4 million migrants last year, with the highest percentage coming from neighbouring Zimbabwe at 45.5%, followed by Mozambique and Lesotho.

They make up only around 3% of the total population of 62 million - though officials acknowledge the difficulty in counting foreign nationals, especially those who are undocumented.

For Dr Mosoaledi, it is clear "no-one can account for all undocumented migrants" in South Africa and says the government was already trying to deal with them.

"Immigration Services deport between 15, 000 and 20,000 illegal foreigners every year at a huge cost. This number is on the increase," he said, pointing out that the government was setting up a new law enforcement agency - known as the Border Management Authority (BMA) - to "significantly reduce the risk of foreigners entering the country illegally".

"New legislation must be introduced to strengthen the powers of immigration officers and inspectorate, and make continuing training compulsory," Dr Motsoaledi added.

He also called for the establishment of immigration courts, saying "the current legislative framework was untenable and leads to long delays in finalising immigration matters, including deportation".

Dr Moyo told the BBC that it was difficult to clamp down on undocumented migrants, as most were from neighbouring states.

"If you arrest and deport them, they come back the following week," he said.

"You can't stop the movement of people. It's better to create a mechanism to allow people to be documented."

Yet, with an election looming, the government is unlikely to drop its plans, especially as some opinion polls suggest that the ANC risks losing its outright majority in parliament for the first time since 1994.

As Dr Moyo noted, those parties that called for tougher immigration policies, including tighter border controls, performed "very well" in the 2021 local elections in South Africa's economic heartland of Johannesburg and the capital, Tshwane.

[head-post]

EU migration deal helpless in face of small boats

Europe’s sea lanes were crowded last weekend. On Sunday, more than 700 migrants crossed the English Channel from France to England, bringing this year’s total to 18,342 – 13 per cent more than in 2023. On the same day, 421 migrants on twelve boats landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa, and since then more migrants have arrived, totalling more than 500, The Spectator reports.

The diversity of nationalities of the migrants who have arrived on Lampedusa is a surprising and disturbing snapshot of the crisis facing Europe. The people who have disembarked have come from Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ghana, Gambia, Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria, Liberia and Syria. There are now too many gangs operating in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Some migrants are travelling on their boats from Libya, others from Tunisia. The latter route is cheaper, with migrants paying smugglers between £500 and £1,500 (the cheapest route is from Sfax, which is 116 miles west of Lampedusa). The cost per seat in a boat sailing from more distant Libya ranged from £3,000 to £7,000.

The cost of crossing the Mediterranean to Europe highlights what American scholar Stephen Smith explained in his 2018 book The Scramble for Europe: migration is being made by Africa’s young middle class, not by the poorest and most oppressed.

The internet and social media allow this demographic to see what they see as great potential for personal growth in Europe; according to Smith, these young middle class people resent the “elder rule” in Africa that limits this growth. In his book, Smith predicts that migration from Africa has only just begun and will increase significantly in the coming decades.

Asian migrants rush to Europe

Africans are not the only ones who see Europe as the promised land. Increasingly, it is becoming a destination for South Asians, particularly Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.

Almost 40,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year, 7,615 of them from Bangladesh, the highest number of any country. Italian authorities fear the figure will rise in the coming months, given the recent political turmoil in Bangladesh. Student protests that began in July turned into a large-scale uprising against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hundreds of people were killed and the prime minister fled, leaving behind an unstable country under an interim government that has promised to hold parliamentary elections soon, according to The Spectator.

The unrest in Bangladesh is similar to that in a huge number of countries in the developing world in recent years, with seven coups d’état in Africa since 2020 and conflicts ravaging Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In each case, one of the consequences is increased migration to Europe.

The European Union is struggling to contain this huge outflow of population. Over the past 18 months, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has signed agreements with Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania and Lebanon in the hope that their governments can control the flow.

Forthcoming leaders’ talks

The number of migrants crossing Europe is down on 2023 – 94,009 arrived in Italy in the first seven months of last year – so the EU strategy is paying off. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of migrants continue to arrive, paying substantial sums of money to the well-organised criminal gangs that control the routes. The political vacuum in France and the election of a Labour government in the UK will push these gangs to expand their illegal business, The Spectator reports.

This week it was revealed that Keir Starmer held talks with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the issue of illegal immigration. The British Prime Minister believes that tackling criminal gangs is the most effective way to stop the boats.

That’s unlikely to work. There are too many gangs operating in Asia, the Middle East and Africa right now. Destroy one and another will take its place, attracted by relatively easy wealth.

According to a report by the Global Initiative to Combat Transnational Organised Crime, a single human smuggling gang can earn up to one million dollars (£780,000) a month. It may not be as lucrative as the drug trade, but unlike that trade, it is not the smugglers who bear the risk, but the people being smuggled. It is they who are at risk when they climb into a flimsy boat and take to the high seas.

But it is the huge masses of people who are willing to take this risk. Europe is their dream, and they will not be deterred by the danger or the deals the EU has made.

Read more HERE

[petnews2day]

Starmer slammed over ‘weird dog whistle attack’ as backlash grows over his comments on Bangladeshi illegal migrants

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/0zEih

Starmer slammed over ‘weird dog whistle attack’ as backlash grows over his comments on Bangladeshi illegal migrants

THE Home Secretary has slammed Sir Keir Starmer for his comments about returning Bangladeshi migrants – calling them a “weird dog whistle attack”. James Cleverly took aim at the Labour leader after he singled out people from the south Asian country during The Sun’s election showdown last week. Cleverly called them a ‘dog whistle tactic’Credit: […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/0zEih #DogNews

[blogynews]

"Secret Pathways Unveiled: UP ATS Busts Illegal Bangladeshi Entry Network into India!"

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) apprehended three individuals of Bangladeshi nationality on Thursday. Two of the suspects, Nazibul Sheikh (35) and Abu Hurayayra (30), were arrested for aiding the illegal entry of migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar into India. Another individual, Adil Ur Rehman (22), was detained for illegally entering India. According to the ATS, Nazibul and Abu…

[blogynewz]

"Secret Pathways Unveiled: UP ATS Busts Illegal Bangladeshi Entry Network into India!"

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) apprehended three individuals of Bangladeshi nationality on Thursday. Two of the suspects, Nazibul Sheikh (35) and Abu Hurayayra (30), were arrested for aiding the illegal entry of migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar into India. Another individual, Adil Ur Rehman (22), was detained for illegally entering India. According to the ATS, Nazibul and Abu…

[shumailach-blog]

Better Care For Migrants Can Ensure Higher Remittance Earnings

Abdur Rashid Mia (32) from Narsingdi went to Saudi Arabia in June 2022. However, each step of his journey there was complicated – from getting his passport, to completing his medical check-ups, paying for his tickets and, finally, getting a job. But after completing everything, he left Bangladesh believing that he could positively change the financial condition of his family.

Rashid was not the only one; in 2022, two Bangladeshis left the country every minute to work abroad. The total number of migrant workers who left the country was 11.35 lakh, which is a record for Bangladesh. They all left their homes with the same dream.

Bangladesh is the sixth largest labour-sending country and the eighth in terms of remittance earned. According to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) under the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment, more than 12 million Bangladeshis – of which nearly one million are women – have gone abroad as migrant workers in the last five decades, and sent back USD 275 billion remittance earnings in total.

Thanks to them, Bangladesh now has a foreign exchange reserve of more than USD 35 billion, even amidst a crisis. Those migrants have sent USD 21 billion as remittance on average in the last three years, which is 8-10 times higher than the total foreign aid or foreign direct investment (FDI) Bangladesh received. Bangladesh is no longer dependant on foreign aid because of this.

After liberation, Bangladesh was the second poorest country in the world. Five decades later, Bangladesh has become one of the fastest growing economies, with an average growth rate of 6.3 percent over the last decade. Evidently, overseas employment and remittance played a vital role here.

Our migrants have proved time and again that even when most of our other sectors are struggling, their contribution can carry Bangladesh through its darkest times. They have proved this during the global financial crisis of 2008-09, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the dollar crisis that arose due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Instead, they are exploited at home and abroad. The same applies to when they send remittances back to Bangladesh. Even though they are urged to send remittances through the legal channel, hundi traders have been increasingly luring them into using the illegal channel. So, despite the surge in overseas employment, remittance inflow through the official channel dropped to USD 21.28 billion in 2022 from USD 22 billion a year earlier.

The top 11 remittance earning countries for Bangladeshis in 2020-21 were KSA, USA, UAE, UK, Malaysia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Italy, Singapore, and Bahrain. According to data from the Bangladesh Bank, remittance inflow decreased from all of these countries in 2021-22, except for the USA, UK, and Italy.

Most of these countries undoubtedly faced high inflation. Still, the yawning gap in the dollar rates between the informal market and the banking channel was one of the primary reasons for the decrease in remittance inflow.

Bangladeshi migrant workers mostly earn between USD 200-400 a month. When they were getting Tk 93-99 for every dollar through the formal channel, they were getting Tk 110-120 through hundi. If the informal market offers them Tk 10-20 more for every dollar, it is natural for them to prefer it over the official channel. It is evident that the decision to fix the price of the dollar was incorrect. The Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) and Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Authorized Dealers Association (BAFEDA) raised this issue in a meeting with the Bangladesh Bank last November.

After that meeting, it was decided that migrants would get Tk 107 per dollar, which was Tk 99.50 before. Apart from this, banks agreed not to charge any fee for collecting remittances. Besides, it was decided that sending any amount of remittance from abroad will not require any documentation.

These were positive decisions. But migrants also take other considerations into account when sending money. For example, they consider how quickly it can be sent to their families, how easy the process is, etc. And so, unless these issues are addressed, it will be difficult to prevent them from preferring the use of hundi.

Bangladesh is the sixth largest labour-sending country and the eighth in terms of remittance earned. PHOTO: STAR, Bangladesh is the sixth largest labour-sending country and the eighth in terms of remittance earned. PHOTO: STAR

Better care and services for migrant workers, along with some special incentives can increase remittances or even double it. So, the banks need to get closer to them or develop special digital services and products targeting migrants.

It needs to be asked what facilities do migrants get for sending remittances for 10-20 years. Do they get any pension schemes? Is there any One-Stop Centre for migrants to invest in Bangladesh? What benefits do their family members get? There are no satisfactory answers to these questions.

Many migrants and their family members are not within the reach of banking services. Though there are more than 10 million migrants abroad, many don't even have a bank account. The government can make it mandatory for them to open a bank account before leaving the country.

Banks here can promote the opening of two accounts, one for sending money to their families and the other to save for the migrants themselves. They can also introduce various saving schemes for migrants. The government can also introduce pension allowance for migrants, from which they can benefit once they return after 10-20 years.

The government can provide other benefits to migrants. For example, they can introduce a special admission quota in schools and colleges for their children, or give them medical incentives.

The government can also take more initiatives to honour and recognise migrant workers. In addition to that, the sending of skilled workers abroad should be prioritised. This should be prioritised after the Covid-19 pandemic and due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which has drastically increased the demand for skilled workers. We also need to explore new markets, while not losing our focus on the old ones.

Overall, we must focus on ensuring good governance in the migration sector. The sector is still plagued by a number of problems. Before migration, migrants have to deal with recruiting agencies – some of which turn out to be fraudulent – intermediaries, inaccurate information regarding jobs, purchasing and selling of visas at high prices, the issue of obtaining government clearance, etc. But even that is not the end of it.

Once migrants reach their destinations, they often face harassment, exploitation, abuse, have to take on inhumane workloads, live in difficult conditions, and even risk their lives.

The government has indeed taken various positive initiatives in the field of migration, but there is still a long way to go. But before everything else, we must understand that migrants are not money-making machines; they are human beings, just like us. They deserve dignity and better care, which will ultimately help increase remittance for the country.

Source: The Daily Star

[indizombie]

Much of the over 2,500-mile-long border between India and Bangladesh is porous, through which hundreds of thousands of people fled from Bangladesh during its India-backed war of independence from Pakistan in 1971. To be recognised as Indian citizens, all residents of Assam have had to produce documents proving that they or their families lived in the country before March 24, 1971. New Delhi said in 2016 that around 20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants were living in India.

'In India's citizenship test, a spelling error can ruin a family', SBS

[townpostin]

Tribal Leaders Vow to Expel Illegal Migrants from Santhal Pargana

Ex-CM Champai Soren Leads Rally Against Bangladeshi Influx Key Points: • Thousands gather despite heavy rain to protest illegal immigration • Leaders warn of threats to tribal land, culture, and identity • Call for united social movement to protect indigenous rights PAKUR – Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren has pledged to remove illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from the Santhal…

[bhaskarhindinews]

Poha: कैलाश विजयवर्गीय का अजीब बयान, कहा- पोहा खाने का तरीका देख बांग्लादेशियों को पहचाना

देशभर में नागरिकता संशोधन कानून (CAA) के खिलाफ विरोध प्रदर्शन चल रहा है। इस बीच भाजपा के राष्ट्रीय महासचिव कैलाश विजयवर्गीय ने एक बड़ा अजीब बयान दिया है। उन्होंने कहा कि मेरे घर पर काम कर रहे मजदूरों के पोहा खाने के स्टाइल से मैं समझ गया कि वह बांग्लादेशी हैं।

[bongboyblog]

Justice for the natives!

Lol Assam is weird for sure. They drive out the *native* Sylheti Bengalis out of the state, take their jobs and destroy their property calling them *outsiders* because they are *non-Assamese*. And now they are encroaching the lands of neighbouring states to accommodate the illegal *Bangladeshis*... Pfffft💀

Google the clashes I'm talking about. Don't wanna write on a fresh sensitive issue. (The border clashes with Meghalaya and Mizoram)

#dunno-who-shot-first-but-get-those-bangladeshi-migrants-out-of-india

Like bruh, about 10 million people crossed the border (in 1971 and many more entered later) and into West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya. They came as refugees, that's fine, WHY THE F*CK did u give them citizenship?! Of course the native lands are in danger now. See most of the top officials in W.B. and Assam, they all came from Bangladesh. Now pay the price for your hospitality.

Facts:

Native Bengalis, Assamese and our tribal brothers don't have enough jobs around.

'Cause most of the central government jobs and shops are owned by those Bangladeshi migrants.

They learn our language and dialects and say "I'm from West Bengal, I'm from Assam, I'm from Tripura"

They 'cause problems and the whole of Bengali or Assamese community is blamed.

Just send them back to where they came from. Period. All issues solved.

If you can't send them back, at least give priority to us natives and make a clear distinction! I'm not tryna incite hatred, just freaking give us what we deserve as natives of this land!

We want peace and security!

But no, our politicians want their vote banks. This is why I hate political parties...

- a native West Bengali and proud North East Indian.

[callmewinged]

"This figure of the 'illegal Bangladeshis' in India became polarizing election rhetoric. The explosive mix of issues of security, immigration, and religion was turned into vitriol-filled political and cultural campaigns. People can be undocumented, they can be migrants, but can they be 'illegal'? ...Words are powerful, and they have the capacity to normalize hate. To call a human being illegal is not only racist and inaccurate, but also dehumanizing. No human being is illegal. Existing is not illegal."

[carminavulcana]

What is happening in India?

Large parts of the Indian public are out on the streets and protesting against the new Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). In a nutshell, this bill, which is now law, provides a shorter path to citizenship for non-Muslim undocumented migrants (from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) who crossed the border to India before December 31st, 2014. The reason given for excluding Muslims from the bill is that most of these undocumented migrants are from persecuted religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries. The logic is that since Muslims are not persecuted in these Muslim-majority countries, they have no need for inclusion in this bill.

This is not the complete picture. While non-Muslim minorities are certainly mistreated in these countries, a lot of Muslim migrants from these countries are also affected by war, conflict, extremism, sectarianism, and poverty-- which is why they are now in India. Also, since they are in India (at least since December 2014), what does the government plan to do with them? Repatriate them to their home countries? Expel them? Detain them? Can India even do that with its economy in crisis? Is the Indian public willing to shoulder the political, social, economic, and ethical cost of such a massive (and potentially disastrous) operation? Are willing to take the chance of a civil war? Is that why India is burning?

A point of clarification here: The protests in Assam have little to do with the protests in Delhi and other parts of the country. The protests in Assam are because people there are worried about "illegal migrants gaining citizenship." These so-called illegal migrants include not just Bangladeshi Muslims but also Bangladeshi Hindus and the Buddhist Chakma people. Assam has had an anti-foreigner problem for a long time. And in my book, this hatred for supposed outsiders is horribly xenophobic. In a nutshell, Assam is burning because they don't want the CAB to make the NRC (National Register of Citizens; another controversial policy that has stripped millions of people-- both Muslims and Hindus-- of their Indian citizenship) redundant by providing a path to citizenship for a large percentage of "illegal migrants." 

On the other hand, the rest of the country is in uproar because the CAB is a highly discriminatory law. If the goal was to protect persecuted minorities in our neighboring countries, then a blanket ban on Muslims makes little sense. Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan are persecuted. Baloch people are persecuted. Hazaras in Afghanistan are persecuted. Sufis in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have also faced persecution. Then, why only these three countries? What about the Tamil Hindus, Muslims, and Christians in Sri Lanka? What about the Lhotshampas? What about the Uighurs in China? And why forget the Rohingyas of Burma who are considered the most persecuted minority in the world? 

India can't have its cake and eat it too. If we are a secular haven for persecuted peoples in the region, then we have to welcome them from all different religious and ethnic groups. Constitutionally, we can't limit them to Dharmic religions because we are not a Hindu country by law. And if we really don't want outsiders, we should have the guts to say so and be the selfish people we are without any need to hide our true selves. 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[humanrightsupdates]

Take action now - 300 returning migrant workers arrested in Bangladesh

The arbitrary arrest and detention of 81 Bangladeshi migrant workers in September after they arrived in Bangladesh from Vietnam having been trafficked brings a total of more than 300 Bangladeshi workers arrested and detained upon their return from various countries since May 2020. 

Detained for “tarnishing the image of the country” by allegedly engaging in criminal activities, no credible evidence concerning their alleged crimes has yet been provided in any case. 

On 1 September, Bangladeshi authorities sent to jail 81 Bangladeshi migrant workers who had returned to the country from Vietnam on 18 August after they were exploited by recruitment brokers. They had each paid between approximately USD $4700 and $5900 to brokers on the promise of factory jobs, said Md. Alamgir, one of the returnees to a local newspaper. Instead they found themselves in temporary jobs that lasted less than one month for some of the migrants with a payment of less than USD $83 per month.

 Taijuddin, 35, was one of these workers who went to Vietnam on 25 December 2019 with a promise of a job at a furniture factory and a salary of about USD $306 (BDT 26,000) per month. After spending months without enough food and money and not able to send any remittance home, Taijuddin, returned to Bangladesh on 18 August. Taijuddin’s wife quoted him saying “We have arrived, but they will keep us in quarantine for 14 days and then they will let us go,”. 

However, instead of returning home, the authorities sent him to the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj on 1 September. Taijuddin’s wife, who now has her husband in jail for the foreseeable future, is in increasing debt, as she struggles to pay both the living expenses for her family and her son’s school costs. 

Many Bangladeshis become victims of human trafficking in the hope of finding a well-paying job abroad, particularly in the Gulf countries. They are exploited by traffickers who promise them steady jobs and good money only to be subsequently exploited by employers for less pay, more work or threatened with jail terms for illegal stays 

Rights activists in Bangladesh have said that by arresting the workers, who have served their sentences in the foreign land or been through traumatic experience after they were exploited by human traffickers, it is the Bangladesh government itself which is tarnishing the image of the country.

Their arrest and detention violate Bangladesh’s obligations under international human rights law including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They must be freed immediately unless they are promptly charged with a recognizable offense.

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