Workers returning from Kuwait
Photo: STAR
Kuwait has started deporting Bangladeshi workers who are doing menial jobs there after it faced strong demonstration by Asians demanding better wages, humane working environment and regular payment. One can easily realise their deplorable condition by seeing the faces of the returning workers, with tearful eyes, dressed in one cloth, empty hands and signs of physical abuse. These people are mostly employed by companies engaged in cleaning & other nominal maintenance jobs of municipalities & hospitals, offices & markets, schools & mosques etc. They are poorly & irregularly paid and live in houses resembling prison cells. The money they earn from legal employment for the first contract period of about 2-3 years is spent just to realise what they paid to the recruiting agency. The comments and opinions expressed in the editorial of The Daily Star of 1st August 08 are highly commendable. I worked in Saudi Arabia for about sixteen years and got the opportunity of seeing the condition of these persons employed in mostly cleaning and agricultural works. Virtually all of them need to work illegally outside their normal employment contracts in order to survive and realise the huge amount of money they spent to get the overseas jobs. They do all types of jobs, from car washing to carpet cleaning, hawkers' business, loading & unloading of heavy goods & materials etc. These people leave the country under some illusion and only understand the real situation when they are already in trouble. It is very unfortunate that our government is only counting the foreign currency they are earning but least care about their condition. As pointed out in the editorial of The Daily Star, the government must come forward and adopt some firm and bold steps to stop ill treatment and discrimination to Bangladeshi workers by Kuwaiti employers and authorities. Our people are giving their hard labour and definitely have the right to get reasonable & justifiable remunerations and humane behaviour. Kuwait is a Muslim country and we expect our brotherly people there to abide by the guidelines of Islam in employing people. If not today, they will have to pay dearly tomorrow for every drop of tears of these deprived workers.
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