When ties that bind Increase migrants’ vulnerability: Insights from the south to west Asia migration corridor

I met Mariam (not her real name) at Doha, Qatar, airport in December 2021. She was traveling from Jordan on her way home to Bangladesh. When we started talking, she described how, about three years before, her husband arranged for her to work in Lebanon to repay a family loan to a local moneylender. Her in-laws were behind the decision because, according to Mariam, “by working abroad, I could at least help the family financially when I was unable to give them a child.” Although initially hesitant, Mariam agreed in the end also because a job could bring her financial independence and also help in paying her disabled brother’s medical costs.

People migrate as a matter of individual choice. But such decisions occur in complex contexts, often beyond the control of specific actors; local and international network dynamics are as much in play as individual rationality and choice.