12 pc Bangladeshis drowned at sea during journey to EU

Staff Correspondent: Bangladesh ranks sixth in the global list of countries whose citizens are migrating the most. And the position of this country is eighth in the list of sending remittances to its own country. According to the International Organization for Migration-IOM, 12 percent of those who drowned in the Mediterranean while trying to migrate to Europe in the first three months of this year were Bangladeshis.
The IOM announced this information at the release of the World Migration Report in Dhaka.
In an interview after the publication of the report, the director general of the organization, Amy Pope told, “We are seeing this number of Bangladeshis increasing gradually.
Many of these Bangladeshis who wanted to immigrate to Europe were employed in Arab countries.”
According to this report of the World Migration Organization, international remittance flows increased by 650 percent in just two years from 2020 to 22.
After the publication of the report, the IOM Director General highlighted the Rohingya situation in Cox’s Bazar. She said, “Rohingyas are the biggest immigrants in the world. Due to which Bangladesh has to face various challenges.”
Later, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said that terrorist activities and drug trafficking have increased due to the sheltering of displaced Rohingyas. That’s why Bangladesh is facing a lot of challenges.”
Therefore, he called on IOM to play a strong role in solving this crisis and repatriating them to their own countries.
12 pc of those killed in the Mediterranean are Bangladeshis
Every year many migrants from all over the world are buried in the Mediterranean Sea illegally. Often this news come in the media.
The IOM report on Tuesday said many are using the Mediterranean Sea to illegally migrate to Europe. But not being able to enter Europe, a significant part of them are drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
Meanwhile, IOM Director General said that 12 percent of those who have died so far in the first half of this year are Bangladeshis.
However, the IOM director general could not immediately confirm their numbers.
According to the International Organization for Migration, 20 percent of people around the world try to migrate every year for various reasons. They are trying to migrate to other countries for various reasons.
In an interview after the report was published, Amy Pope said that last year more than 8,000 people drowned while crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
However, the IOM Director General could not confirm the percentage of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh sixth immigrant country
In this report, the World Migration Organization said that the position of Bangladesh in the list of immigrants has remained unchanged for the past few years.
Among the top 20 countries listed in this report, Bangladesh is ranked sixth.
India is at the top position in this list. Mexico, Russia, China and Syria are ahead of Bangladesh in this list.
In a list of how many people are being displaced by disasters caused by climate change, Bangladesh ranks fifth among Asian countries. According to IOM’s World Migration Report-2024, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced in Bangladesh due to disasters in 2022 alone.
According to the report, the disaster was the main cause of the largest internal displacement in Asia after Africa. World’s largest ‘disaster displacement’ recorded in 2022 in Pakistan, which experienced widespread and devastating floods. The second largest disaster displacement in the region was recorded in the Philippines. China is next.
South Asia has experienced devastating disasters in recent years, some of which have been linked to climate change, the report said.
South Asia is highly vulnerable to climate shocks and has witnessed extreme weather events such as heat waves and floods in recent years. Longer rainy seasons, warmer weather and increasing drought are all predicted to become the ‘new normal’ in the region. Because the temperature continues to rise.
“People around the world are migrating to save lives, to be displaced by climate change and to seek a better life or livelihood,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope.
Bangladesh 8th in receiving remittances
In this global report, a large part of those who are immigrants in different countries of the world are from Bangladesh. The latest remittance data of 2022 is highlighted in this report. As can be seen, the position of Bangladesh in the list of receiving remittances is eighth in the world.
In this list, neighboring country India is at the top, i.e. first. In 2022, India received remittances of $111.22 billion, Mexico $61.10 billion, China $51 billion.
Citizens of the Philippines send home remittances of $38 billion, followed by France at $30 billion, Pakistan at $29 billion and Egypt at $28 billion.
Bangladeshi migrants at the eighth position in the list send remittances of 21.50 billion dollars. In addition, Nigeria receives $20 billion and Germany $19.29 billion in annual remittances.
Bangladesh was ranked eighth in 2020 receiving almost the same amount of remittances.
This report of the World Migration Organization shows that in 2010, remittances from different countries of the world came to Bangladesh worth 10.85 billion dollars. And the position of Bangladesh was tenth.
Although remittance receipts increased by $5 billion in 2015 over a five-year period, the ranking remained unchanged.
This report of IMO says that India has maintained the top position in receiving remittances for the past one decade.
The report shows that the United States tops the list of countries that send remittances to countries around the world.
In the list of sending remittances in 2020, the United Arab Emirates is at the second position, but the latest report shows that Saudi Arabia is now the second country in the world for sending remittances.
Switzerland, Germany, China, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France and Qatar are also in the top ten list of countries from which remittances are sent according to the latest calculations of 2022.
Mr. Pope said, “Many people thought that remittances will decrease this time in the world due to the Covid-19 situation. But our report says remittances have increased this time. And these remittances were a significant part of the GDP of the countries that went the most.”
He said that in many cases these remittances have exceeded foreign direct investment in those countries.

Where is the solution to the Rohingya crisis?
United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope visited Cox’s Bazar for the first time after arriving in Bangladesh on Monday. He observed the Rohingya situation there.
The top IMO official also highlighted the challenges Bangladesh is facing due to the Rohingya situation when the migration report was released on Tuesday.
He said, “IOM has been supporting these millions of displaced Rohingya with sustenance. Bangladesh is also facing a kind of challenge by sheltering them in their own country.”
Amy Pope met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday morning before attending the event. Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasina urged the IOM to collect more funds from new sources to help the Rohingya in Bangladesh.
In that meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Amy Pope that funding to support the displaced Rohingya from Myanmar had decreased. So IOM should find new partners to raise more funds for this purpose.
In an interview given to BBC Bangla later, Amy Pope said, “I have spoken to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh about the matter. We have informed the representatives of donor organizations including the World Bank to take initiatives to solve this crisis. Urged them to invest there.”
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, participating in the migration report program, said that the repatriation of the 1.3 million Rohingya people who were forcibly displaced from Myanmar and took refuge in Bangladesh as soon as possible has become a big challenge. The use of their shelter area in Cox’s Bazar as a ‘breeding ground’ for drug, arms smuggling and militancy is becoming not only a national but also an international crisis.”