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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
World
Priyanka Shankar

Migrant workers sent $650bn overseas last year – what it means

Cash is received at a remittance centre in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines, after being sent by a Filipino working abroad [File: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]

Mina Hamid*, who hails from Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the Netherlands at the age of 11, says she will never forget the first time she sent money to help her family members back home.

“I was in my late teenage years, and Afghanistan was reeling under the impact of natural disasters and conflicts, making it hard for my extended family members to afford basic necessities. So I began sending between 20 and 30 euros [$21 to $32] occasionally – money I earned from my student job – seeking to support them,” Hamid told Al Jazeera.

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