Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) are individuals of Bangladeshi origin who live outside of Bangladesh. This group includes the émigré community that has settled in various parts of the world and falls under the NRB category.

Wherever NRBs have settled as new residents—whether as citizens, dual citizens, or permanent or temporary residents—they and their descendants have become some of the best-educated and most successful communities globally.

Today, NRBs or Bangladeshi expatriates represent a significant and successful economic, social, and cultural force worldwide. They have made substantial contributions to the economies of their countries of residence and have significantly added to global knowledge and innovation. Additionally, they have been a major source of foreign remittance for Bangladesh.

According to the Government of Bangladesh, the estimated number of NRBs is around 12 million. There is hardly a country in the world today where Bangladeshis, once considered reluctant to leave home ("ghar kuno"), are not present.

There was a time when very few Bangladeshis preferred living overseas under an alien culture. When they did live overseas, it was often temporary, with the expectation that they would return home after their education or job had ended.

Typically, their spouses did not accompany them, and immigration to foreign countries was more challenging in those days. As a result, a large fraction of those NRBs who had settled with their families in Europe, Australia, and North America during the 1960s-1980s were professional engineers, doctors, and educators. The number of illegal immigrants and those seeking political asylum was relatively small.

However, with the increasing globalization since at least the early 1990s and the acute need for cheap and skilled labor from the third world, as well as the alarmingly low population growth rate within indigenous populations, new immigration laws were enacted that allowed immigration to many Western countries.

The character of migration began to change, and a "new Diaspora" emerged, led by high-skilled professionals (especially in the IT sector) moving to the Western world and semi-skilled contract workers moving mostly to the Gulf states.

As the political situation in many native countries deteriorated drastically, adding to insecurity and the politicization of employment opportunities, many who had originally come to Western countries temporarily—for instance, as foreign students pursuing higher studies—were forced to find gainful employment and ultimately settled in more prosperous Western countries that allowed easier integration.

In this regard, it is worth sharing that from my BUET graduating class of 1977, the top 80% of engineering students who earned First Class and came for graduate studies in the USA and Canada in the late 1970s ultimately chose to settle in their host countries. The record for subsequent graduating classes was similar.

Many of their classmates who had worked in the Middle East on engineering projects in the late 1970s and 1980s later joined them rather than settling back in Bangladesh. Such an “exodus” can only be described as a colossal “brain drain” phenomenon.

This experience is not unique to Bangladesh, though. Politicians failed to make them feel secure and needed for the good of their country! Even their best intentions have been questioned, as if they are winter-time migratory birds who are not going to stay around too long!

The emergence of significant diasporas has in recent years brought into sharp focus two key facts:

1. First, there is a large expatriate population of skilled people from emerging economies in the developed world.
2. Second, overseas communities can constitute a significant resource for the development of their countries of origin.

What was once a “brain drain” phenomenon for native countries can easily be transformed into a “brain gain” phenomenon if there are willing undertakers on both ends.

The diaspora community can serve as an important ‘bridge’ to access knowledge, expertise, resources, and markets for the development of the country of origin. As experts would tell us, the success of this bridge is often predicated upon two conditions:

1. The ability of the diaspora community to serve as goodwill ambassadors of their native country in developing and projecting a positive image that is coherent, intrinsically motivated, and progressive.
2. The capacity of the home country to establish conditions and institutions for sustainable, symbiotic, and mutually rewarding engagement.

As to the first of these conditions, NRBs have earned the trust of their hosts by projecting a positive image as good neighbors and workers, and they are accordingly recognized for their contributions both inside and outside their workspace.

Many NRBs are recognized professionally as great teachers, researchers, scientists, doctors, engineers, bankers, accountants, and business entrepreneurs. Many of them are practically running many of the major corporations in their host countries.

They have not forgotten their birthplace; they crave opportunities to help the people of Bangladesh in every way that is legal and possible. Despite demoralizing government red tape, they continue to fund many institutions either at an individual or collective level through local and foreign NGOs. More importantly, these caring, highly talented, and experienced NRBs are capable of transforming Bangladesh into the envy of South Asia.

As the co-founder and advisor of the NRB Council, USA, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bangladesh Expatriates Council, I can testify to the depth of their sincerity in bringing about positive transformational change.

Sadly, regarding the second condition, the Bangladesh government has not proven to be a sincere partner in embracing the outstretched arms of the NRB community.

In fact, its irresponsible policies have penalized NRBs, making the lives of their family members living in Bangladesh unbearable. Their paternal properties have become easy targets for illicit land-grabbing by those affiliated with ruling parties and the government. This sad experience has left many NRBs bewildered and utterly frustrated.

Nothing good can come from such a painful experience when their precious time and money are lost fighting land-grabbing criminals and when they are forced to bribe corrupt and greedy bureaucrats who seem oblivious to their accountability.

It is, however, never too late to correct such mistakes and deficiencies. And what could be a better time than now, when the 5-week-long student-led protests morphed into a people’s uprising, toppling the most corrupt and criminal government in the history of Bangladesh on August 5, 2024?

Never in the history of this land has its people seen a movement of this kind that drew support from every segment of the population—the silent majority that was not led by either a party or a personality. This movement is uniquely different from the one led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League against the British Raj that established Pakistan on August 14, 1947.

This movement is also different from the two-decades-long struggle for political and economic rights of the people of East Pakistan, led by politicians like Sheikh Mujib of the Awami League against the military junta, culminating in the liberation of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971.

This movement is also different from the political movement in 1990-91 led by major political parties like the BNP, Awami League, and Jamat, which toppled the Ershad regime, burying the ‘military democracy’.

Sadly, the people’s aspirations for a better, safer, and more secure life with equal rights and opportunities continued to be dashed by the ruling parties, who, with a ‘winner-takes-all’ attitude, plundered the country as a fiefdom. Every new regime competed to outdo its predecessor in setting new records of thuggery, crime, and corruption.

The toppled Hasina regime turned out to be the worst in which human rights for non-partisans simply did not exist; no dissent was allowed, and abduction and extortion defined the norms of her autocratic government. The police and the RAB, along with hoodlums affiliated with the ruling party, became the enforcers to prolong the life of her hated regime, which was out of touch with the ground realities faced by the masses.

Sycophancy, not honesty and meritocracy, defined the character of the government and its agenda. In most major investment projects, appointments, and policy matters, the appeasement of India ultimately sealed the fate. The constitution of the country was soiled beyond recognition to justify and sanctify state crimes and solidify her hold onto power by any means possible.

In essence, under Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League, Bangladesh was turned into a republic of fear, unmatched crime, and corruption. She destroyed the very image of her father, Sheikh Mujib, once revered as the Bangabandhu and founding father of the nation. The destruction of Mujib’s home, museum, and statues reflects the people’s fury with Hasina’s 15-year misrule.

Sheikh Hasina’s removal from power is a welcome event in Bangladesh’s history. The NRB community is hopeful that the Interim Government will work diligently, with utmost sincerity and well-thought-out plans, to fulfill the people's expectations.

The list of tasks is long, and it will take years, if not decades, to properly establish the stepping stones for a prosperous Bangladesh, where everyone feels happy, productive, and energized to become a force for positive change.

The people of Bangladesh do not wish to revisit the bad experiences of past regimes; they reject dynasty or family-centric politics, chandabazi (extortion), and thuggery. They desire a government bureaucracy and judiciary where bribery is not the norm and a patriotic, not puppet, establishment that is uncompromising in defending Bangladesh’s interests.

Based on a crude survey we conducted recently, we found that our people are willing to give the Interim Government enough time (3-5 years) to deliver on some of the essentials for a better future. They do not desire an election anytime soon, and certainly not within a year.

The NRB community is committed to transforming what was once a ‘brain

drain’ into a ‘brain gain’ and to serve as a valuable partner in Bangladesh’s development. If the Interim Government is serious about building a better Bangladesh, there has never been a better time than now to forge a strong and sustained engagement between those living inside Bangladesh and the NRBs abroad.

The new opportunity to build Bangladesh as a global player of significance has come. Will the new leaders rise to the challenge to work with the NRBs to create a peaceful, prosperous, and progressive Bangladesh?

Dr. Habib Siddiqui is a human rights and peace activist. He is associated with the ‘Esho Desh Gori – Let’s Build Bangladesh’ as a member of its steering committee.