MEDIA report on Sunday said that the number of untimely deaths of Bangladeshi migrant workers is exponentially growing every year bringing shock to families which sent their love ones to earn a better livelihood. It appears that the government is taking such death as a natural phenomenon but any meaningful scrutiny will show that such death by and large results from abnormal work and living condition in foreign land.
It appears that Bangladesh government received over 3,375 bodies, meaning 10 bodies in a day, in 2015. The bodies are mainly coming from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries. The figure for this year so far stands at over 3000 from January to November. Quoting the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (WEWB) figure, the report said lives of most such ill-fated workers were cut short because of hazardous working condition. Low income that does not even cover their health care costs, poor diet, long working hours, anxiety over how they will pay off debts and a hostile environment in foreign soil are some of the reasons why many migrant workers become sick to suffer from many diseases to die untimely at the end. As it appears many die from hypertension that ends up many to die in heart stroke.
What is frightening is that most Bangladeshi workers who died so far abroad were below 40 years of age. It is not time for them to die. It is no secret that those died in abnormal situation abroad left the country in good health and became sick for unbearable condition of life and other hardship. In our view the situation that causes death to so many migrant workers abroad need to be properly investigated with credible survey and the host governments should help such survey. The government may use our embassies to take the cause of workers’ growing deaths and seek remedial measures in phases. Survey on workers condition may not be quite easy in such countries, but what is true is that our embassies are not taking such deaths as a matter of concerns least to try to seek remedial steps. Many believe that our government may enlist the support of international organizations like ILO or WHO to ascertain the causes of untimely death of migrant workers and convince host governments to take positive actions.
As it appears in Bangladesh, the death rate in 2014 was 5.67 per 1,000 and the average longevity of life is touching the mid-60 mark. But the average life legibility of migrant workers dying abroad is 40 years on an average, which is a matter of real concerns. Our government must take the issue with the host governments to slowly work on improving migrant workers condition including their health care facilities. We must ensure that victimization of our migrant workers in foreign land must slowly end.
It appears that Bangladesh government received over 3,375 bodies, meaning 10 bodies in a day, in 2015. The bodies are mainly coming from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries. The figure for this year so far stands at over 3000 from January to November. Quoting the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (WEWB) figure, the report said lives of most such ill-fated workers were cut short because of hazardous working condition. Low income that does not even cover their health care costs, poor diet, long working hours, anxiety over how they will pay off debts and a hostile environment in foreign soil are some of the reasons why many migrant workers become sick to suffer from many diseases to die untimely at the end. As it appears many die from hypertension that ends up many to die in heart stroke.
What is frightening is that most Bangladeshi workers who died so far abroad were below 40 years of age. It is not time for them to die. It is no secret that those died in abnormal situation abroad left the country in good health and became sick for unbearable condition of life and other hardship. In our view the situation that causes death to so many migrant workers abroad need to be properly investigated with credible survey and the host governments should help such survey. The government may use our embassies to take the cause of workers’ growing deaths and seek remedial measures in phases. Survey on workers condition may not be quite easy in such countries, but what is true is that our embassies are not taking such deaths as a matter of concerns least to try to seek remedial steps. Many believe that our government may enlist the support of international organizations like ILO or WHO to ascertain the causes of untimely death of migrant workers and convince host governments to take positive actions.
As it appears in Bangladesh, the death rate in 2014 was 5.67 per 1,000 and the average longevity of life is touching the mid-60 mark. But the average life legibility of migrant workers dying abroad is 40 years on an average, which is a matter of real concerns. Our government must take the issue with the host governments to slowly work on improving migrant workers condition including their health care facilities. We must ensure that victimization of our migrant workers in foreign land must slowly end.
