Migrant Protection Must Go Beyond Remittances

The execution of Nazrul Islam and Sweety Akter in Saudi Arabia, without prior notification to Bangladesh, has exposed a serious gap in the protection of our migrant workers. With more than 2,500 Bangladeshis reportedly in Saudi jails, the incident highlights the risks our citizens face when they encounter foreign legal systems without adequate support. We depend heavily on migrant workers and their remittances. However, their contribution to the economy also brings a responsibility to protect their lives and rights, wherever they work.

Our diplomats reportedly learned of the executions only after the Saudi authorities had carried them out. The government has since sent a diplomatic note to Riyadh seeking an explanation, but this response cannot undo the loss of two lives. The incident also raises questions about how Bangladesh monitors the legal cases of its citizens abroad. With 30 to 35 lakh Bangladeshis living in Saudi Arabia, keeping track of every case may be challenging. Even so, our missions must maintain contact with detainees, follow court proceedings and seek timely information from local authorities. When a citizen faces a severe sentence, early intervention and access to legal representation can make a crucial difference.

The consequences extend beyond the victims themselves. Many Bangladeshi workers leave home with limited knowledge of foreign laws and little money to hire lawyers. When they face arrest, they may struggle to understand the charges or defend themselves in an unfamiliar legal system. Their families back home may also have no clear way to seek help. Meanwhile, we continue to count the remittances these workers send home without giving equal attention to the risks they face abroad. This imbalance exposes a weakness in our migration policy: we encourage workers to contribute to national development, but we must also ensure that they can turn to their own country for support in times of crisis.

The government must therefore make migrant protection a central part of its overseas employment policy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should establish a reliable system to track arrests, trials and sentences involving Bangladeshi nationals abroad. Our embassies need dedicated legal aid funds, access to local lawyers and clear procedures for handling serious cases. Moreover, the government must assess consular performance and hold officials accountable for neglecting their duties. The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment should also provide practical pre-departure training on destination-country laws, legal rights and emergency contacts. Concurrently, Bangladesh must work with Saudi Arabia to secure timely information about arrests and court proceedings.

We cannot bring Nazrul Islam and Sweety Akter back, but we can ensure that their deaths lead to meaningful change. We expect the government to investigate the circumstances of their cases and strengthen the safeguards available to Bangladeshis facing prosecution abroad. Our workers leave home to build better lives for their families and support the national economy. They deserve more than praise for their remittances; they deserve a state that stands beside them when they need help most. Ultimately, we must judge our migration policy not only by how much money workers send home, but also by how well we protect them.