[ad_1]
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 dramatically in the last month, but he sees it as a new beginning.
“He had everything… a decent place, a car, a good job, and financial stability. But it all came to an end after I was featured in that documentary, ”he told the Dhaka Tribune.
“I did not commit a crime. All they wanted was to make their voices (of migrant workers) heard and tell the world that what they are going through is inhumane. They (the Malaysian authorities) cannot chain anyone for being undocumented ”.
Rayhan was arrested on July 24 after a two-week manhunt, after the Department of Immigration issued a search notice against him.
It had previously appeared in the Al Jazeera report titled “Locked in Malaysia’s Lockdown,” aired on July 3, which claimed that the authorities had mistreated migrants during the period of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Rahyan, who arrived in Bangladesh on August 22, said that 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 in immigration law and defend the rights of migrant workers.
Rayhan also told the Dhaka Tribune that no one from Al Jazeera contacted him after his arrest.
He said the news organization asked him if he wanted to remain anonymous and hide his face in the documentary. However, he refused to cover his face because it never occurred to him that he was breaking any laws.
“Speaking 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 telling the truth would get me in so much trouble, ”he was quoted as saying.
When asked how he was treated in jail, he said he is unwilling to talk about it because he fears that anything he says could endanger Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia.
“I will not speak of it for the greater good. I don’t want to endanger many migrant workers who are still working in Malaysia, “he added.
Following the broadcast of the documentary, Malaysian authorities said that Al Jazeera was being investigated for sedition, defamation and improper use of network facilities.
