At least five thousand Bangladeshi workers became victims of unnatural death and several hundred injured abroad in the last five years, according to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MEWOE). Fire incident, road accident, heart failure in police custody and war there stated to be some reasons of unnatural death between 2009 and 2013, the Ministry says. Only in 2013, at least 3,076 expatriates were victims of unnatural death in different countries. A total of 1,308 cases were filed seeking compensation against their abnormal death. Of those, about 340 cases were disposed of. The remaining 968 cases are waiting to go to the justice. In 2007, at least seven expatriates were killed in a fire broke out in a furniture factory of Saudi Arabia. The six countries of the Middle East witnessed about 61 per cent unnatural death. Saudi Arabia scored the highest numbers. Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told the media that about 16,789 Bangladeshi workers died in the last five years. Of them, 5,108 were the victims of the unnatural death, he said, adding the 13,414 bodies were taken to the country. In June 2011, the government declared 10 policies to ensure several facilities, including safe work place for the workers abroad. But the polices’ implementation is hardly found, sources said.
