Address social cost of migration on left-behind family members

Speakers at a dissemination workshop today said the social cost borne by elderly parents of migrant workers is an under-addressed area in the country's labour migration discourse, stressing adequate government measures to this end.

Parents in migrant families play a crucial role in decision-making regarding offspring's migration abroad and also arranging migration costs, they said.

On the other hand, alongside gains, they face psycho-social challenges such as loneliness and negligence, and also bear additional responsibility to care for their grandchildren, they added.

Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation organised the workshop at the capital's Brac Centre Inn on "Social Cost of Migration: Left Behind Elderlies and Siblings".

According to an RMMRU study, in the case of international migration, 70 percent of parents financed migration of their off-springs while 56 percent of elderly members suffered from anxiety and insecurity due to the migration of their offspring.

In case of gain, over 60 percent of elderly members had better food, housing and social status while over 70 percent received better medical treatment opportunities, it says.

In her presentation, RMMRU Founding Chair Prof Tasneem Siddiqui said globally there is a lack of research on this particular area of labour migration.

She mentioned the wage earners' welfare board, which provides welfare services to migrant workers, has taken an initiative to build about 35 service centres across the country, stressing addressing challenges of the elderly at these centres.

Prof Salma Akhter of Dhaka University's sociology department said elderly parents of migrant workers should get priority in the government's social safety net programmes.

Prof Shantanu Majumder of DU's political science department said with the start of remittance inflow, a "redistribution of power" can be seen in migrant families.

It needs to be looked at what role elderly members have in such circumstances, he said.

Chairing the workshop, Hamida Akhtar Begum, chairperson of the Human Development Foundation, called for policymakers' attention to address the issue.