Editorial
31 Bangladeshis in distress
Attend to their SOS
THE woes of 31 Bangladeshi crew on eight foreign ships on the Benin coast go on. One would have thought that by this time meaningful action would have been taken to save them from the dire circumstances in which they have found themselves. That they continue to be caught in a state of misery is not only a matter of sadness but one of sheer outrage as well. Of course their employers are responsible for the state they are in. And of course every effort should be expended to apprehend the unscrupulous men, both in Bangladesh and in the countries of origin of the ships in question, and penalize them for their criminality. It is simply unacceptable that people can do wrong, in this case place other people's lives in jeopardy, and can get away with the act.
Of graver urgency at this point is the question of what the Bangladesh government has been doing to save the 31 Bangladeshis and bring them safely back home. We do realise the fact that the country does not have an embassy in Benin. But that ought not to be ground for the authorities not to utilize other channels in order to carry out their responsibilities to these hapless men who have been going without food and water for the past many days. They do not have visas that will allow them into Benin. And the suspicion is that with no means of keeping their cell phones going, these men will soon go out of touch with the outside world. These are very strong reasons why the Bangladesh government should by now have safely seen these men come back home. Instead, the foreign office has been telling us that it is in touch with our missions in Beijing and Athens in order for them to solicit the assistance of the Benin government about salvaging the 31 Bangladeshis. The approach, as we write this leader, does not seem to have worked since there has been no response from the Benin authorities. One wonders why our missions in such countries as Morocco and Algeria have not been put to work on the problem.
The helplessness of the 31 Bangladeshis raises the very fundamental issue of the responsibilities a state has toward its citizens, especially those who get into problems abroad. The sad tradition for us is that rare has been the instance when the Bangladesh authorities, now or in the past, have come forward to help citizens in distress. One prime responsibility of a nation's diplomatic missions abroad is to lift distressed citizens out of the difficult conditions they may fall into, away from their countries. Given that responsibility and considering the easy means of communications in these times, it is quite inconceivable as to why the foreign office has yet been unable to get in touch with the Benin authorities or undertaken measures on its own to save the crew. Must Bangladeshis in trouble abroad always depend on foreign nations or governments or firms to get back to safety? Where other governments have been known to rush to the defence of their citizens abroad, literally as well as figuratively, ours have always demonstrated a penchant for indifference or deliberately slow action. That is neither acceptable nor understandable.
We expect swift action on the part of the government. Let these 31 Bangladeshis be brought home without further delay.
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