Western Union

Migrant workers sent $650 billion offshore last year: what that implies

Mina Hamid*, from Kabul, Afghanistan, who relocated to the Netherlands at 11, says she will never forget the first time she sent money to aid her family members back home. "I was in my late teens, and Afghanistan was reeling from natural catastrophes and conflicts, making it difficult for my extended family to acquire basic essentials. So I began giving between 20 and 30 euros [$21 to $32] on occasion, money earned from my student job, in order to help them." The 36-year-old, who now lives and works for the European Union in Brussels, sends money to her extended family in Afghanistan every three months.