BANGLADESH - MIGRATION IN 2000

Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia are about 250,000. They have been subjected to abuse by criminal compatriots and to smuggling operations by agencies at home. Bangladeshis in Malaysian jails were 774 at the end of the year. Malaysia initiated repatriation procedures of those caught in an irregular situation. Networks of traffickers were found in various parts of Bangladesh, such as Jhalakati, Baguna, and Patuakhali. Young girls are sold at the rate of Tk5,000 to Tk10,000 to brokers, and are then taken to India to work as prostitutes. Children instead are sold for Tk 50,000 in Arab states to work as camel jockeys. The UNHCR was running out of funds to run the camps hosting Rohingya refugees. Around 250,000 of them escaped from the military junta in Burma and 231,549 have been repatriated. Of the remaining 21,000, only 7,000 have been recognized by the Burmese authorities and will be gradually taken back. For the others there is no solution yet. Issues deriving from the separation of the states in the sub-Indian continent have yet to find a permanent solution. However, some steps were taken, when Bangladesh and India reached an agreement to complete the demarcation of their borders by June. The problem of the 250,000 Urdu-speaking people who opted for incorporation into Pakistan was not solved, as Pakistan declared that it does not have the financial resources to resettle them.