“From dalal to legitimate service providers? Bangladesh migration reform”

…Having spent all his savings on his first attempt, it took Mintu several years to save the administrative fee to try again. This time, again utilising an informal broker, he made it to Saudi Arabia, where he commenced a construction job. Sadly, after only a year, he suffered a stroke that left him permanently blind and was forced to return to his home in Tangail, a district just outside the capital, Dhaka…

…. This amendment requires migration agents to be licensed as “sub-agents” of the few major private migration companies operating nationally. Despite the law being on the books, a dispute has emerged over provision of the resources to implement the licensing process. The government argues that the large recruiting agencies should bear responsibility, while the latter generally argue that the government should bear the costs…

…the politics of vested elite interests – in this case several powerful recruiting agencies with strong ties to government – have obstructed a progressive reform effort…

…These sub-agents are collaborating with the local branch of the advocacy organisation, the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMRRU), precisely because they, too, see the benefits of formal registration, not only for the sector but also for themselves…