Workers abroad
It is indeed quite unfortunate that one of our workers in Bahrain committed such a heinous crime as murdering his employer. And for him now around one-lakh Bangladeshi workers' fate is in jeopardy as Bahrain has decided not to renew their work permits. But the question is one should not judge an entire country through the misdeed of one person. There is also an element of discrimination here displayed by the Bahraini lawmakers. Had he been a worker from the USA or Europe they may have refrained from such stern actions. So, we hope that our diplomats will manage to handle the situation appropriately and soon come to a pragmatic solution. In addition, our workers are also the victims of shady manpower agencies. For example, 27 Bangladeshis had to return from Iraq. They were promised by the unscrupulous agents that they would be taken to Dubai but they ended up in Iraq! Thanks to IOM that they have helped to repatriate 118 of our workers from Solaimania. Then there is the case of 45 workers returning from Malaysia with fake passports as their original passports were confiscated by their employers besides being not paid their due wages. Similar is the plight of workers in Saudi Arabia.
So, such harassment of our workers abroad is very disturbing. The government must find out the fake recruiting agencies (as they have already started doing so to some extent) and make sure that such agencies are scrapped. In addition, our embassies in those countries should be more conciliatory and helpful instead of ignoring or neglecting the workers' plight. We must remember that it is the remittances of these workers that are contributing a hefty amount to our foreign exchange earnings. It is our utmost duty to ensure that they lead a hassle-free life abroad.
Should weak nations always keep quite to exploitation by rich and powerful countries? The very few incidents that prompted Bahrain's decision of expelling Bangladeshi workers are regrettable. But the fact remains that Bahrain has decided to collectively punish all Bangladeshis in Bahrain in response to the criminal offence committed by only a few of them. This is a clear violation of human rights and can not be acceptable to any sensible person. We have seen enough of subservience by our government. I am disgusted to see our government not saying a word about poor Mizan's execution in Bahrain. Please bring all our 90,000 citizens back home, instead of appeasing the Bahraini 'brothers'. Immediately shut down our embassy in Manama and severe ties with that outrageously arrogant nation for violating rights of our people. Please show some self-respect. We are not beggars and the country will survive without the 'alms' earned from Bahrain. Jamiul Walid, Dhaka
Show self-respect
Should weak nations always keep quite to exploitation by rich and powerful countries? The very few incidents that prompted Bahrain's decision of expelling Bangladeshi workers are regrettable. But the fact remains that Bahrain has decided to collectively punish all Bangladeshis in Bahrain in response to the criminal offence committed by only a few of them. This is a clear violation of human rights and can not be acceptable to any sensible person. We have seen enough of subservience by our government. I am disgusted to see our government not saying a word about poor Mizan's execution in Bahrain. Please bring all our 90,000 citizens back home, instead of appeasing the Bahraini 'brothers'. Immediately shut down our embassy in Manama and severe ties with that outrageously arrogant nation for violating rights of our people. Please show some self-respect. We are not beggars and the country will survive without the 'alms' earned from Bahrain. Jamiul Walid, Dhaka
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