Saha Avijit, Dutta Arpita, Rezvi Minhazur Rahman, Sifat Ridwan Islam, Sultana Nayeem, Hasan Mehedi
Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Bangladesh University of Professionals, Dhaka, 1216, Bangladesh.
Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
Heliyon. 2023 Aug 26;9(9):e19479. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19479. eCollection 2023 Sep.
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down economic growth and disrupted labor markets throughout the world, including Bangladesh. A significant proportion of people lost income sources in the formal and informal sectors, triggering them to return to villages, and the transition introduces us to the new phenomenon known as "reverse migration". This study explores and synthesizes the COVID-19 induced changing patterns of migration and returnees' coping strategies based on their level of preparedness as well as resource mobilization. A mixed-method research approach was applied to conduct the research. The study area was Rangpur (Pirganj, Taraganj, and Kaunia). For collecting primary data, semi-structured survey questionnaires were used and conducted 84 field survey data, 12 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), 6 In-Depth Interviews (IDIs), 2 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and participant observations. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis with the assistance of NVivo software were used to present the findings of this study. The findings of the study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic fueled informal job holders' returning to their homeland due to a low level of preparedness and mobilized resources. The study found that most respondents were in severe level unemployment. As a result, a lack of physical assets, they could not start new income-generating ventures and encountered food insecurity due to unexpected price hikes. The alarming result indicates that internal reverse migration is gendered, and the adverse impact is more prevalent among female migrants rather than male migrants. Along with the governmental organizations, the highlights of this study would be essential for non-governmental organizations and development practitioners.
新冠疫情减缓了包括孟加拉国在内的全球经济增长，并扰乱了劳动力市场。很大一部分人在正规和非正规部门失去了收入来源，促使他们返回农村，这种转变让我们认识到了一种被称为“逆向迁移”的新现象。本研究基于返乡者的准备程度和资源调动情况，探索并综合了新冠疫情引发的迁移模式变化以及他们的应对策略。研究采用了混合研究方法。研究区域为朗布尔（皮尔甘杰、塔拉甘杰和考尼亚）。为收集原始数据，使用了半结构化调查问卷，并进行了84份实地调查、12次焦点小组讨论、6次深度访谈、2次关键 informant 访谈以及参与观察。借助NVivo软件进行描述性统计和主题分析，以呈现本研究的结果。研究结果显示，由于准备不足和资源调动，新冠疫情促使非正规就业者返乡。研究发现，大多数受访者处于严重失业状态。因此，由于缺乏实物资产，他们无法开展新的创收企业，并且由于意外的物价上涨而面临粮食不安全问题。令人担忧的结果表明，国内逆向迁移存在性别差异，不利影响在女性移民中比男性移民中更为普遍。除政府组织外，本研究的重点对非政府组织和发展从业者也至关重要。
