Thousands of youths fall prey to broker syndicates every year in the hope of jobs abroad, losing everything — some defrauded, some returning home as bodies, others facing torture and humanitarian disaster on illegal routes and ruining their families. Against this backdrop, Shariatpur-2 MP and district BNP president Shafiqur Rahman Kiron has taken an unusual and humane initiative, beginning to implement his announcement to train and send 216 educated, unemployed youths abroad for jobs entirely free of cost.
As part of this, applications and preliminary screening began at the Naria upazila parishad hall on Saturday (6 June) morning. Under the supervision of Messrs Metco Enterprise, more than 800 educated unemployed youths were interviewed; young people from various unions of Naria and Sakhipur upazilas took part. According to the organisers, the initiative was taken to reduce unemployment and ensure safe migration: one youth from each ward of Naria and Sakhipur — 216 in total — will be selected through screening, and after training will be employed in Dubai, UAE, and other countries on various categories of visa.
Participants said many of them had spent hundreds of thousands of taka through brokers to go abroad and had been defrauded, and that the offer of free, legal and safe overseas employment through Kiron’s company Messrs Metco Enterprise was truly humane, rare and praiseworthy. Kiron said: “I have decided to send a total of 216 people — one from each ward of my constituency — abroad entirely free of cost. We will bear all costs from training to going abroad. Those who pass the preliminary screening will later be brought to Dhaka for special training, after which they will be placed in jobs abroad based on skills and qualifications. Most importantly, all costs until going abroad — board and lodging, training, the visa process, airfare and other incidentals — will be borne by Messrs Metco Enterprise.” He added that, if successful, the initiative would become an exemplary model of safe and legal migration and open new possibilities for the country’s unemployed youth, and that, though starting with 216, the programme would continue.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report