Migration

In the restless borderlands between India and Bangladesh, new research documents the human impacts of climate disruption where the social compact is precarious.

The Asia Foundation, in collaboration with implementing partner Forum for Women, Law, and Development (FWLD), organized an interaction and discussion meeting in Bhadrapur, Jhapa. The session engaged local-level government officials and elected bodies to discuss the need for a victim rehabilitation fund and center for countering trafficking in perso… Read more

Bangladeshi workers in the Maldives are important to both economies, but more needs to be done to protect the rights of labor migrants.

Bangladeshis are a vital workforce for this island destination in the Indian Ocean. But for many it’s far from paradise.

Several waves of displacement and migration since 1990 have resulted in the splintering of many Rohingya families, who live indefinitely separated across Myanmar, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and other countries. Meanwhile, refugees in Bangladesh endure the hardships of camp life while awaiting sustainable solutions to the crisis. A study by The Asia Foun… Read more

Like so many citizens in countries facing shrinking economic opportunities at home, many Nepalis have sought employment abroad, and international labor migration has become an accepted avenue for economic growth, both for the individual and for the nation. Nepal’s political and socioeconomic systems are in a period of transition, and the country is… Read more

For millions of Nepali workers who have gone overseas for work in recent years, smartphones have become a crucial tool for navigating the highly complex and risky process of international migration. Yet despite this widespread smartphone usage, there remain serious information gaps between those seeking to migrate and the providers of important ser… Read more

Last week, heads of state from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand met for the third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Siem Reap to discuss the threats to the Mekong River region, among them how to develop effective coping strategies for climate-related vulnerabilities. Cambodia is already feeling the effects: the country recently endured a… Read more

At Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Airport, young men and women snake through the international terminal, waiting their turn to begin what could be the world’s longest commute to work. More than 1,500 people depart the country in this way every day, mostly bound for temporary jobs as construction workers, domestic servants, or low-skill laborers in the Gulf… Read more

The issue of human trafficking took center stage in the global development discourse with the release of the U.S. State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on June 27, 2017. The report assesses the progress made by countries worldwide to combat human trafficking and grades them into three tier ratings. Nepal has once again been… Read more

Over the past decade, Nepal has seen a ten-fold increase in the number of migrant laborers leaving the country to work abroad, and the majority are youth. This phenomenon has led to the exodus of a significant proportion of the country’s working-age population, with the remittances that they send back home making up nearly a third of the country’s… Read more

At Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Airport, young men and women snake through the international terminal, waiting their turn to begin what could be the world’s longest commute to work. More than 1,500 people depart the country in this way every day, mostly bound for temporary jobs as construction workers, domestic servants, or low- and medium-skill laborers… Read more