Editorial
Overseas workers should obey the law
But host countries must also ensure their welfare
The prime minister's admonition to Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait that they must follow the laws of the country in which they are working and assurance that overseas law breakers could not seek safe haven at home must have gone some way towards reassuring her hosts that she is intent on a mutually advantageous relationship between Bangladesh and Kuwait.
Bangladesh certainly does not want its overseas workers to get a reputation for law breaking, and to the extent that the law breakers are a small minority, they shouldn't threaten to harm the interest of the vast majority of law abiding Bangladeshis working in Kuwait and elsewhere.
Taking steps to ensure that only those with good reputation will be sent abroad and that there will be zero tolerance and no safe haven for illegal activities will in fact ultimately work to the benefit of all Bangladeshi workers, and is to be commended.
However, there is another side to the equation. If Bangladesh agrees to take steps to try to ensure that Bangladeshis in Kuwait do not break the law, then the Kuwait government needs to take similar steps to ensure that the rights of Bangladeshi workers remain protected.
Too many Bangladeshi workers are cheated and abused overseas, and it is the duty of the host government to ensure that their rights are respected, that they are treated in a decent and humane manner, and that their living and working conditions are acceptable.
One hopes that it was this understanding that informed the prime minister's admonitions, and that the quid pro quo expected has been communicated clearly to the Kuwaiti government.
Abiding by the law is a two-way street. Of course, Bangladeshis in Kuwait should abide by the law of the land. But, by the same token, the land in which they work and live must also ensure that their rights are respected and their interests protected.
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