Adapting to change: Exploring reverse migration as a coping strategy among internal migrants in Bangladesh

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down economic growth and disrupted labor markets throughout the world, including Bangladesh. A significant proportion of people lost income sources in the formal and informal sectors, triggering them to return to villages, and the transition introduces us to the new phenomenon known as “reverse migration”. This study explores and synthesizes the COVID-19 induced changing patterns of migration and returnees' coping strategies based on their level of preparedness as well as resource mobilization. A mixed-method research approach was applied to conduct the research. The study area was Rangpur (Pirganj, Taraganj, and Kaunia). For collecting primary data, semi-structured survey questionnaires were used and conducted 84 field survey data, 12 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), 6 In-Depth Interviews (IDIs), 2 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and participant observations. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis with the assistance of NVivo software were used to present the findings of this study. The findings of the study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic fueled informal job holders’ returning to their homeland due to a low level of preparedness and mobilized resources. The study found that most respondents were in severe level unemployment. As a result, a lack of physical assets, they could not start new income-generating ventures and encountered food insecurity due to unexpected price hikes. The alarming result indicates that internal reverse migration is gendered, and the adverse impact is more prevalent among female migrants rather than male migrants. Along with the governmental organizations, the highlights of this study would be essential for non-governmental organizations and development practitioners.