Migrants Rights to Information and Services (MRIS) Program.

Donor: Refuge and Migratory Movements Reach Unit (RMMRU)

Goal: Established migrant’s right to information on migration processing and to bring good governance in migration management
Specific Objective:

Major objectives of the project are:

1. Increased access of migrants to existing services required to manage different stages of migration.
2. Improved quality of services provided to migrants by different government institutions
3. Improved access of migrants and their families to bank and other financial institutions
4. Increased relevant stakeholder on various issues of migration.

Duration: January 2010 to December 2011.

Components of the project:

1. Information Dissemination through Migrant Rights Protection Committee
2. Ensuring Better Services from Banks
3. Capacity Building of District Employment and Manpower Offices
4. Influencing Policy through Press Conference and Media Campaign

Location Coverage:

Name of District	Name of Upazilla	Name. of  union
Chittagong	Sitakund	2no. Baraiyadala
		3 no. Sitakund Pourashava
		4 no. Muradpur
		7 no. Kumira
	Mirsarai	9 no. Mirsarai
		12 no. Khaiachara
		14 no. Hayetkandi
		16 no. Shairkhali

Background:

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the population density according to 2004 figures stood at 790per sq km. Growing at the present rate of 2.08%per annum, there will be a net increase of 50.14 Million by the year 2020. This alarming increase is obviously having a major impact on the issue of unemployment.

The labour force survey of 1996 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) showed that the employment rate was 34.6% in 1995-96, and magnitude of the problem was greater in rural areas standing at 37091%,as opposed to 19.6% in urban areas. The Magnitude of employment has more than doubled in the last decade, increasing from 17.1% in 1983-84,to 34.6% in 1995-96,The situation has further deteriorated because of the high growth rate of the labour force is increasing at a rate that cannot be accommodated by the youth employment rate.

In spite of these alarming indicators young people from Bangladesh are earning a huge foreign remittance that makes a significant contribution to foreign exchange reserves. This was made possible by our migrant labour force working abroad, mostly in other Asian countries and in particularly, the Middle East. As noted earlier, due to the employment rate being much higher at rural and sub-urban areas, most of these migrant labours come from these socio-economic settings. Fact is, the bulk portion of our labour force have a very limited literacy and skill level and have therefore, migrated as unskilled labour. Not only that the country depends on them for foreign exchange but hundreds of thousands of families also rely on them.

Like Others part of Bangladesh, the sub-urban and rural part of Bangladesh also employs significant number of migrant labours to the above mentioned areas in sitakund 53% of the families and in mirsarai around 59% of thr families have migrating family members working as labour abroad.

Due to their limited literacy level, unavailability of relevant information and proper consultancy service, most of these migrants labour suffer from more or less the same problems. These includes, cheating by the middleman, fake and unregistered travel agencies and bankers in the name of free visa, steady job and other facilities. Moreover, some social leaders and government officials are also heard to be taking advantage of their lack of knowledge.

Major Activities:

1. Create and Collect the demand for loan from migrants
2. Information collect from four banks about loan opportunities for migrants (migration and investment)
3. Information collect about remittance status and account holder (migrants) in quarterly basis from local bank
4.  Meeting arrange with Banker, RM, AM,  MRPC and others focus on loan opportunities for migrants
5.  Meeting arrange with DEMO, MRPC, AM and others focus on facilities of DEMO office (registration, training on online complain, visa check etc)
6. Arrange Courtyard meeting/Hat shova and disseminate the information 
7.  Day observation
8. Collect and prepare data on complains of migrants (online and form distribution)
9. Circulate and collect the information from applicant for scholarship (skill training per MRPC -1  minimum 50 applicant)
10. Increase the uses and services of Demo officials for migrants (registration, visa check, online complain, claim compensation etc)
11. Publicity for award of successful migrants and process the application and selection RM, MF, SM.
12. Disseminate different IEC materials in the targeted areas.
13. Display drama, Banner or others materials on utilization of remittances, loan facilities, online complain etc.

Program achievements at a glance:

Line Description	Target (Janu-July’2010)	Achievement (Janu-July’2010)	Cumulative Achievement from the beginning
Communication with Bank Officials (Project area)	11 Banks	Male-11	Note: Project activities have been started from April-10
MRPC Re-formation meeting	06	06
Successful stories of Return Migrants workshop	02	02
MRPC Monthly Co-ordination meeting	24	24Meeting
Information Collect about Remittance status form bank	06	06
Sharing  meeting with BMET	01	Completed =01
Counseling & Servicing in migration process	96	96Counseling
Leaflet ,poster& busier distribution	On going	3285pcs
Legal aid Support by MRPC	on going	14
Film show	09	Completed=10
Collect information about CM, RM,AM	On going	Completed Total= 850
Utahan Baythak	30	Completed=30
Organize Making for awareness working area people	06	Completed=06
Supported for passport prepared	35	Completed =37
Supported for Visa Check	On  going	Completed =13
Sharing  meeting with Bank meeting	02	Completed =02
Case study Collection	08	Completed =09
Quarterly Reporting to RMMRU	10	Quarter-2

Case Study:

Case Styudy-01

Abul Khair’s complain at BMET, Chittagong office through online
Abul Khair, Father Abdur Rahman, Village:Syadali,P.O.Bortakia,Upazilla: Mirersharai,Zilla: Chittagong,Passport no.R-0102678,Abul Khair has deposited 84000 (Eighty Four Thousand )taka through a cashier of a recruiting agency to go to Malaysia in the last 25th July,2008.Its receipt no. is 3124.The officials of the recruiting agency could not send any document except one copy of Malaysian visa to Abul Khair.

After waiting for some days like this way, while Abul Khair wanted to get back the money, they fixed date with him one after another, but did not get him back the money. Even some times, agency officials showed annoy and scolded him. So finding no way, Abul Khair submitted his complain by Khaiyachara Migrants’ Right Protection through online. He gave 84000 (Eighty Thousand) taka by selling his land to recruiting agency representative to go abroad. He has been suffering for 2 years and living a very non human life. BDET Chittagong office has received his complain letter.

Case Styudy-02

Joynal’s journey as a migrant with the support from member of Kumira Migrants’ Rights Protection Committee. Md. Joynal is an inhabitant of Sitakund pouroshova. He collected visa after a long time effort to go abroad. He had to collect money with a lot of sufferings to collect visa. He sold his own small land for collecting the money.

He was running to everybody for borrowing money as a mad as he could not collect the full money. By this time, an exchanging meeting was held with the members of the bank staffs of Sitakund and Migrants’ Rights Protection Committee. In that meeting, Sahana Akhter in favor of 7no.Kumira Migrant Committee was present like others. She knew from that meeting that there is a facility at Agrani Bank for those who want to go abroad. Incidentally, she heard about Md. Joynal. After that she informed Joynal about Migrants’ loan and told him to communicate with YPSA staffs.

Manager of the Agrani Bank informed that it will take 2 months time from submitting all necessary documents to processing under the rules of the migrants loan existed in the bank. Joynal became frustrated while hearing this.

He told the bank to manage 50000 tk. with any way within short time. But the bank authority cannot do anything which is outside of their rules even they want to. Joynal again met with Sahana Akhter while duration of his visa was going to be finished. Getting no way, Sahana Akhter met with the general secretary of her committee.

Then.03members of the committee being together, general secretary of the migrants committee and Sahana Akhter being responsible for Joynal’s money, managed 50000tk from Kumira Bazar committee for Joynal. Joynal finished all his activities with ticket booking with that money and went abroad. At present he is living as a migrant. He informed that he could go abroad only by the necessary efforts of Migrants’ Rights Protection committee and by the hard labor of the member of MRPC Ms. Sahana Akhter.