“The journey will be relaxed. You will watch television. Just like a VIP”: Misinformation, secrecy, and the information behaviour of repatriated migrants in Bangladesh

Abstract

Abstract This paper explores the information behaviour of repatriated migrants in Bangladesh in the context of their irregular migration. Using an exploratory qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight repatriated migrants in Bangladesh. This study provides insights into the culturally situated, complicated information behaviour of repatriated migrants in Bangladesh. The findings of this study show that repatriated migrants did not seek any information in the context of their irregular migration. It is evident that factors such as unrealistic perceptions and expectations about life abroad, desperate desire to relocate to another country, and trust in smugglers and their agents played a key role in their information seeking in the context of their irregular migration. The study revealed that some participants were unaware of the risk of taking an irregular journey and deceived by the misinformation shared by their smugglers and their agents. Some interviewees even claimed not to attempt to move to Malaysia if they were aware of the heavy risks associated with the move. The concepts of “migration as gambling” and “Aladdin’s lamp” emerged in this study have some implications for local informational program development aiming to educate vulnerable rural population about the risk of irregular migration and connect them with reliable migrational information sources. The study identified some information grounds such as the Bazaar and Betel fields, which might be useful in offering informational programs at those grounds. The findings related to the information behaviour of repatriated migrants have potential implications for research in various disciplines, including library and information science, migrational studies, geography, and psychology.