Eid is usually a day of laughter and joy for most people in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 170 million in South Asia. But for Muhammad Gura Miya, it became a day of sadness and mourning after his only son left home on Eid in 2025 and never returned.
Gura Miya, a 65-year-old resident of Maheshkhali sub-district of Bangladesh’s southeastern coastal district Cox’s Bazar, now spends his days in distress over the loss of his son.
“He was my only hope and support. I don’t know where he is, or whether he is alive or dead,” Miya said.
Miya is not alone. Mongabay spoke with dozens of families whose sons or household heads are missing or dead after attempting to migrate to Malaysia for work.
On April 14, 2026, a small boat carrying around 250 people, including Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya refugees, capsized in the Andaman Sea while en route to Malaysia. Only nine people were rescued; the rest remain missing.
Young, unskilled people in this coastal area are risking illegal migration across the Bay of Bengal in small boats as fossil fuel projects, ports and petrochemical complexes threaten their ancestral livelihoods.
A study on irregular migration from Bangladesh to Malaysia through the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea found that Cox’s Bazar has become a new hub for human trafficking to Malaysia.
“
We have never seen so many unemployed people here before. We have never seen such poverty and job scarcity. Around 20,000 people were involved in salt pans, shrimp farms, and fishing. Most lost their livelihoods after their land was acquired.
Maulana Mohsin, general secretary, Maheshkhali Jono Surokkha Moncho
The partial implementation of the integrated development initiative — consisting of a coal power plant, a port, and two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals — has already displaced 20,000 residents and left thousands of salt and shrimp cultivators unemployed after their land was converted into industrial plots.
Unemployed and seeing no future in the planned development, local youth who lack technical skills are being drawn into illegal migration by promises of better earnings and employment.
But the risky voyage often ends in death, imprisonment in Myanmar or Thailand, or captivity by traffickers and smugglers.
Fossil fuel-based development ventures displace thousands
With support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Bangladesh government has launched major development initiatives for the coastal area under the Maheshkhali–Matarbari Integrated Development Initiative (MIDI), which began in February 2024.
The development plans require about 37,000 hectares (91,429 acres) of land across Maheshkhali and Matarbari (under the Maheskhali sub-district) to establish three major industrial zones: An energy hub with 13 gigawatts of new LNG and coal power plants, a deep-sea port with container and multipurpose terminals, and a special economic zone.
An ActionAid study released in September 2020 found that the first phase of the Matarbari coal power plant and deep seaport had already displaced around 20,000 people by acquiring 1,141 hectares (2,820 acres) of land used for salt production, fish farming, and shrimp cultivation.
Together, the coal power plant, coal jetty, and deep seaport affected around 90,000 people in Matarbari, according to the study.
However, the implementation of the three major industrial zones under the master plan may displace more than 770,000 local people.
Unemployment increases as development infrastructure expands
Livelihoods in Maheshkhali and Matarbari are highly dependent on salt cultivation and shrimp farming, according to the environmental impact assessment report (EIA) for the Matarbari coal power project, conducted by Tokyo Electric Power Services Co. Ltd. (TEPSCO), a JICA study team.
The EIA said land acquisition for salt pans and shrimp farms could worsen household economies and cause livelihood losses.
To reduce the effects of poverty caused by land and job losses, the study recommended employing local residents at the construction site, power plant and associated facilities, based on their skills.
Local people who once worked in salt pans and shrimp farms found work at the coal power plant and port during construction. But many became unemployed once the facilities began operating, and they no longer had land to cultivate.
Displaced salt and shrimp farmers were largely excluded from the projects due to their technical knowledge gap and lack of education.
Although the EIA recommended training local unskilled workers for technical jobs, and the authorities promised to do so while acquiring land, that promise has not been fulfilled.
SM Abu Haider, chairman of Matarbari Union, said, “The authorities promised better jobs through training, including sewing for women and vocational and computer training for men. But that promise was not fulfilled.”
“We have met with the local administration several times, but there has been no effective response.”
Construction and maritime traffic affect fishing communities
Low-income residents of this coastal sub-town lost not only salt fields and shrimp farms, but also fishing grounds in the shallow waters of the Bay of Bengal.
The Kohelia River, an important fishing spot in Maheshkhali and Matarbari, has been disrupted by dredging and construction for the deep seaport, according to a study.
In addition, increased maritime traffic from coal-laden vessels has disturbed fishing zones.
“We once caught plenty of fish near the shore where the coal power plant and port were built. But recently, most fishermen have returned home with empty buckets,” said Abdul Malek, a fisherman from Maheshkhali.
Many fishermen are also barred from fishing in certain areas of the sea to protect LNG facilities.
“The LNG terminal operators spray hot water and seize fishing nets if fishermen enter certain areas,” Chhobur Mia, a fisherman from Maheshkhali, said.
Poverty has engulfed hundreds of families. Some have migrated to distant cities for day-labour jobs, while others risk their lives at sea trying to reach East Asian countries through illegal migration.
“We have never seen so many unemployed people here before. We have never seen such poverty and job scarcity,” said Maulana Mohsin, general secretary of the Maheshkhali Jono Surokkha Moncho, a platform advocating for the protection of Maheshkhali residents’ lives and livelihoods.
He acknowledged that the power plant and port employed some people, but said the number was small compared with the thousands left jobless.
“Around 20,000 people were involved in salt pans, shrimp farms, and fishing. Most lost their livelihoods after their land was acquired,” Mohsin said.
Youth risk their lives in search of work
Tariqul Islam, a 19-year-old unemployed youth from Maheshkhali who hoped to support his family by going abroad, was captured and imprisoned in Myanmar for about a year while trying to migrate to Malaysia across the Bay of Bengal.
Seeing no chance of earning a better income at home, he decided to migrate illegally to Malaysia. But that dream turned into unimaginable hardship.
Two days after Eid-ul-Fitr in 2025, he and three other youths from the same locality left home for Malaysia.
“The traffickers first took us to Myanmar on foot. There, they held us hostage and demanded Tk200,000 (US$1,624) from each of us to send us to Malaysia. Once my father sent the money, they put us on a boat and sailed into the sea. But the boat cracked and sank,” Tariqul said.
“That was when the worst part of the journey began,” he said. “For the next three days, we kept ourselves afloat until the Thai Navy rescued us and handed us over to Myanmar’s naval forces.”
After that, he endured eight months of imprisonment in Myanmar before being deported to Bangladesh.
Tariqul’s tale is not an isolated case of illegal sea-bound migration from Maheshkhali; dozens of youths have risked their lives in search of jobs in Malaysia and Singapore.
Some drowned at sea; some were taken hostage; and others remain missing.
Local media reported that a human trafficking gang has established a stronghold by targeting unemployed people and men who lost land to the coal-fired plant and deep-sea port projects.
Imran-Mahmud-Dalim, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Maheshkhali Upazila, said, “Those taking the sea route for migration are not only from this upazila. People from other parts of the country also use this route.”
“The most shocking part of this illegal migration is that most victims’ families do not even inform the local administration. They deal with traffickers secretly so that the victim at least reaches the destination country.”
“However, we are conducting an awareness campaign to discourage people from taking such journeys,” he said.
This story was published with permission from Mongabay.com.
