Disastrous impact of COVID-19 on Bangladeshi migrant workers
Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Middle East and other regions have been hard hit by COVID-19 deaths and job losses as well as government and employer harassment in the countries where they are working. Those who have managed to return to Bangladesh are confronted with starvation, indebtedness and other miseries.
More than 10 million Bangladeshis, or about one in every 20 people from the country, are migrant workers. Bangladesh is sixth highest in the list of countries that send their workers overseas. More than three million are employed in the Middle East, including nearly two million in Saudi Arabia.
A few days ago a news item carried by
The Guardian, a UK daily, created a major stir in the national media of several Asian countries. The piece was an expose of an ongoing tragedy involving deaths of migrant workers in Qatar. It revealed that more than 6,500 migrant workers from South Asia have died since the country earned the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On average, every week, 12 migrant workers have died since December 2010 while working on various infrastructure projects including stadiums, an airport, roads, the public transport system, hotels and a new city.
The report stated that 69 percent of deaths among Indian, Nepali and Bangladeshi workers were officially categorised as natural . Other significant causes were road accidents (12 percent) workplace accidents (seven percent) and suicide (seven percent). Interestingly, the classification of natural death was usually made without an autopsy and thus failed to provide legitimate medical explanation for the unde
4 expats imprisoned in Qatar: Foreign ministry urged to take steps for immediate release Star Online Report Star Online Report
Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants today urged the foreign ministry to take immediate steps for the release of four Bangladeshis who were detained, imprisoned and sentenced recently by Qatar authorities.
The four Bangladeshis who have been working as fishermen in Bahrain were sentenced to three months in prison with hefty fines, BCSM, a platform working on migration, said in a statement. We were informed by Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) that these men did not have access to translators during their trial. They were detained from Bahrain s territorial waters, read the statement, signed by BCSM Chair CR Abrar and Co-chair Syed Saiful Haque.
Editorial
Govt. has the chance to play a historic role
File photo of migrants gathering at the Biman Bangladesh Airlines office in Chattogram for return plane tickets to the Middle East, in August 2020. Photo: Rajib Raihan
We agree with the Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants (BCSM) that the government should develop a common guideline for case evaluation of migrant workers whom host countries have sent back involuntarily. The Covid-19 crisis has exposed just how vulnerable our migrant workers are and how terribly they are neglected during a time of major crisis, even though they too were adversely affected perhaps even more so, being stuck in a foreign country under harsh conditions, or being forcefully sent back home without having their dues paid.
Editorial
Host countries should implement a mandatory “migrant protection policy”
File photo of migrants gathering at the Biman Bangladesh Airlines office in Chattogram for their return plane tickets to the Middle East, in August 2020. Photo: Rajib Raihan
According to government data shared by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMRRU), the average monthly return of migrant workers in the country increased by four times in the last three months compared to what it was in the previous five months. Data shows that between April 1 and August 27, some 85,790 migrant workers returned home from 26 countries, while the number of returnees increased to a little over 3.26 lakh as of November 30. While many of our workers were deported due to the coronavirus pandemic, many were forced to return due to a fall in global oil price and job losses in tourism, services and construction sectors in the Gulf countries.