The Daily Star reporter Md Abbas has been awarded the OKUP Media Fellowship for his work in migration reporting.

He received the award in the newspaper category (English) alongside three other journalists at a discussion on climate change, migration, and modern slavery held at a hotel in Dhaka.

At the event, Md Mohiuddin, senior reporter at Prothom Alo, won the fellowship in the Bangla newspaper category, while Tahsina Sadeq, senior reporter at DBC News, was recognised in the television category, and Raihan Ahmed, staff reporter at Jago News, received the award in the online category.

A neutral jury board selected the winners through a competitive evaluation process.

During the event, a study conducted by the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP) was presented, highlighting the struggles of climate-affected migrants.

The study found that migrants from Mathbaria in the Pirojpur district spent an average of Tk 461,220 to go abroad, with 25 percent of the funds coming from land sales and 18 percent from high-interest loans.

Although the report was published online last month, it was reintroduced at the event, which was organised with funding from UK International Development.

The research focused on two climate-affected districts—Mathbaria in Pirojpur and Gowainghat in Sylhet—and was conducted in multiple phases.

Surveys were carried out among 648 respondents, along with 18 group discussions with various communities. In-depth interviews were conducted with 27 migrant workers and 17 local and national experts.

The report exposed various forms of modern slavery, including low wages, unpaid salaries, physical and mental abuse, and restrictions on movement.

According to the findings, 99 percent of the surveyed migrant workers faced at least one form of exploitation, while 81 percent experienced five or more types of forced labour.

The discussion was attended by prominent officials and experts, including AKM Sohel, additional secretary & Head of UN Wing, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Md Abdul Malek, associate professor at the Department of Geography & Environment, Jagannath University and a jury board member; Shakirul Islam, chairperson of OKUP; and Omar Faruq Chowdhury, executive director of OKUP.

The research report was presented by Urmi Jahan, research manager at OKUP.