Expatriates Betrayed: How the Yunus regime turned its back on remittance warriors

By Hossain Tofazzel Ronu

They left home with tears in their eyes and hope in their hearts. Year after year, Bangladesh’s expatriates, our remittance warriors, sent billions back, not just in dollars but in dreams. They built homes they never lived in, funded futures they may never see, and kept our economy alive. Under Sheikh Hasina, before August 5, 2024, their contributions were respected, rewarded, and celebrated. This continued until the arrival of Dr. Muhammad Yunus’s regime.

Today, they are being treated like criminals.

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From welcome to witch-hunt

Previously, people embraced returning expatriates. Now, airport immigration has become a checkpoint of fear. People who openly supported the Awami League or criticised the interim government find themselves stopped, questioned, phones checked, and in some cases, surveilled. What was once a homecoming now feels like criminal suspicion.

Embassies that no longer serve

In the past, Bangladeshi embassies were lifelines for NRBs, giving passports, hosting “Probashi Dibosh,” and celebrating diaspora contributions. Today, those same embassies have become political tools. Expatriates who express support for the previous government face delays in renewals and denial of services, and are excluded from national events. The warmth has vanished.

Incentives pulled, trust broken

Under Hasina, the government offered a 2.5% cash bonus on remittances, a symbol of gratitude that encouraged formal channels and strengthened the economy. Yunus abruptly revoked that incentive. The result was sharp and immediate: according to Bangladesh Bank, remittances plunged from $3.3 billion in March 2025 to $2.75 billion in April, a 16% drop in a month. It is more than finance; it is betrayal.

No plan, no acknowledgement

Where once there were forums, reintegration schemes, and live discussions with diaspora communities, Yunus’s regime offers silence. No outreach, no events, no vision. They ignored the people who built the country’s financial resilience, and instead they chased IMF loans. It is logic versus neglect.

Expat voices silenced

Diaspora-run social media pages that support the Awami League are being shut down, shadow-banned, or demonetised. Digital content creators report surveillance by attackers linked to the regime. Loyalty to Bangladesh now requires political alignment, an alarming shift from freedom to fear.

Family pressure and emotional drain

Many NRBs are cancelling travel plans, holding back investments, and delaying remittances. One New York-based expatriate shared, “We send love in dollars. But now we get fear in return.” The emotional connection, so long the diaspora’s greatest strength, is unraveling.

A clear contrast in leadership

In the same period, PM Sheikh Hasina upheld the remittance incentive, expanded digital embassy services, and publicly praised the diaspora’s role in national speeches. Her actions reinforced those feelings of pride and belonging. The Yunus regime’s actions do not.

Why this matters

Remittances are not charity. In the first eight months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, Bangladesh received $18.5 billion in secondary income, nearly all from expatriates, and this kept the current account deficit lower than the previous year. Alienating remittance warriors may save political convenience, but it costs economic and moral capital.

To rebuild trust, the Yunus government must reverse the course. It must reinstate incentives, reopen engagement, protect exiled voices, and value expatriates not as sources of capital but as symbols of a global Bangladesh.

The diaspora will remember who turned them away and who welcomed them home.

Hossain Tofazzel Ronu: Expatriate, Entrepreneur, Social Worker, and Politician