From Folk Tunes to Lifesaving Messages: Pot Songs Resonate

From the banks of the Jamuna River to the centre of the local bazaar, the melody of Pot Songs touched the crowds throughout Bangladesh. Set to popular folk tunes in a form of traditional art, lyrics about safe migration wafted along with the breeze across bazaars and fields. 

To raise awareness among communities on various topics, including safe migration, financial literacy, emittance management and reintegration, the Prottasha project partnered with Rupantar Shilpagoshthi and organised 540 Pot Songs events from 2019 to 2022 across the country, reaching nearly 200,000 people.

This community-based campaign that integrated the traditional performance involved a group of artists narrating the complete migration process with paintings on canvas. At the end of the Pot Songs, the audience was invited to engage in a conversation with the actors on the stories and the migration experiences.  

One of the primary causes behind people migrating through unsafe channels, putting their lives and the future of their families at risk, is the lack of information. Middlemen eagerly exploit the lack of information of these people, often leaving them penniless. Undergoing the hardships throughout their migration journey, innumerable migrants end up returning home feeling betrayed and frustrated. To prevent more people from falling into the traps of human-trafficking and exploitation, the Prottasha Project was born. Its public information campaign programme, through Pot Songs and other communications tools, was aimed at fighting misinformation and insensibility by disseminating accurate information about safe migration. 

Mohammad Sujon Rifat, a secondary school graduate from Sirajganj Sadar Upazilla, north of Bangladesh, was one of the quiz contest winners of the Pot Song campaign at the Shialkol bazaar. Thrilled after winning an unexpected prize, Sujon explained that he was planning to go abroad once he turned 18. “But after watching the campaign today, my plans have been completely changed. There were a few middlemen who approached me with unbelievably lucrative offers, but I don’t want to fall into their trap.” 

As the interactive Pot Songs performance unfolded, Mohammad Yunus, also from Sirajganj, listened carefully to the story about the dangers of unsafe migration and human trafficking. At that time, he was working as a day labourer on construction sites and had no plans or means to travel abroad. But in his community, he had witnessed many cases where people unknowingly fell victim to trafficking due to the lack of awareness and limited access to regular migration routes. “I had no idea about the government and NGO offices mentioned in the songs. From now on, I will tell the people in my community who want to work abroad that they should follow the correct procedures,” he commented. 

Eye-catching graphics on the Pot scrolls depict information sources, important phone numbers and the names of contact persons, along with the necessary measures to mitigate risks of moving overseas. Curious villagers and bystanders enthralled by the paintings and performances did not disperse even under a scorching sun or in pouring rain.

Local community leaders and representatives of the District Manpower and Employment Office also joined the crowd to raise awareness. “We can reach out to the Prottasha Reintegration Service Centre or the District Manpower and Employment Office before planning to work overseas,” said Rubaiyat Rahman, a student from Dhanbari, Sirajganj. She furthered by pointing out that valid passports and certificates are required to facilitate legal and safe migration, and it is important to gather information about the recruiting agencies in advance to examine their credibility. “To fight trafficking and smuggling, it is crucial to share correct information with everyone in the community.”

Using Pot songs to promote safe migration did not only bring back a traditional form of storytelling but also raised awareness on safe migration within the community.  Breathing life into a nearly extinct art form is now saving the lives of hundreds of potential migrants and returnees.

Funded by the European Union, the Prottasha project contributed to the sustainable reintegration of returnees in Bangladesh and the progressive achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 10.7 to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed policies. 

By: Md Sariful Islam, National Communications Officer, IOM Bangladesh