Deported Bangladeshi wants to study migration law, champion workers’ rights

Rayhan Kabir was deported to Bangladesh after he appeared in the Al Jazeera documentary ‘Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown’.

PETALING JAYA: Rayhan Kabir, the Bangladeshi deported from Malaysia after appearing in an Al Jazeera documentary, wants to study migration law and work for the rights of migrant workers.

Now back home, Rayhan, 25, said his life has changed drastically in the past month but he sees it as a new beginning.

“I had everything … a decent place, a car, a good job, and financial stability. But everything came to an end after I appeared in that documentary,” he told Dhaka Tribune.

“I did not commit a crime. All I wanted was to make their (migrant workers) voices heard and tell the world that what they are going through is inhuman. They (Malaysian authorities) cannot shackle anyone for being undocumented.”

Rayhan was arrested on July 24 following a two-week manhunt, after the Immigration Department issued a wanted notice against him.

He had earlier been featured in the Al Jazeera report titled “Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown”, aired on July 3, which claimed that authorities had treated migrants poorly during the movement control order (MCO) period to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Rahyan, who arrived in Bangladesh on Aug 22, said he does not want to live in the past and think about what he has lost. Instead, he said, he has decided to pursue higher studies on migration law and champion the rights of migrant workers.

Rayhan also told Dhaka Tribune he was not contacted by anyone from Al Jazeera after he was arrested.

He said the news organisation did ask him if he wanted to go anonymous and hide his face on the documentary. However, he refused to cover his face because it never occurred to him that he was violating any law.

“Speaking up for the community was not alien to me since I have done it many times before appearing in the documentary. It never occurred to me that speaking the truth would get me into this much trouble,” he was quoted as saying.

Asked how he was treated in jail, he said he is not willing to talk about it as he fears anything he says might put the Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia in jeopardy.

“I will not talk about it for the sake of greater good. I do not want to jeopardise many migrant workers who are still working in Malaysia,” he added.

Following the airing of the documentary, Malaysian authorities said Al Jazeera was being probed for sedition, defamation and improper use of network facilities. - FMT