Gazi Anowar :
Bangladeshi expatriates in South Africa are in a mess situation following an anti-immigrant movement there, said High Commission officials and migrants.
Mobs reportedly vandalised and looted several hundred shops of Bangladeshi expatriates in the last week. There was no report any casualty of Bangladesh in the racist attacks, but they are living in fear and uncertainty over their future.
However, the situation seemed to be normal since Thursday, officials and Bangladeshi expatriates told The New Nation.
They said, the last week’s violence and looting of shops occurred in Johannesburg and its surrounding areas.
Similar incidents also occurred in the capital Pretoria on Monday, when local media reported shacks and shops burning in the Marabastad — a central business area largely populated by migrants.
Sporadic violence against foreign-owned stores and enterprises has a long history in South Africa, where many locals blame immigrants for high unemployment.
“They burned everything, a Bangladeshi shop owner Kamrul Hasan, 27, told the media adding that his shop gets attacked every three to six months.
“All my money is gone. If the (South African) government pays for my plane ticket, I will go back to Bangladesh,” he said
“I do not know of what is my future here. All of the goods of my shop, worth Tk 25 lakh, were looted. I fled the shop only with a shirt,” said Mominul Hoque, a Bangladeshi grocery shop owner in Johannesburg.
Mominul, who has been staying there since 2010, said he never saw such a huge violence there, though attacks by the locals on the immigrants, especially other Africans, were common.
Mobs suddenly attacked and looted nearly 40 shops in a neighbourhood of Johannesburg on Monday night. Some 18 of them are owned by the Bangladeshis, he said. “We tried to call police, but their phones were busy. Then we had to flee to save our lives.”
More than 200,000 Bangladeshis are staying in South Africa. Most of them are involved with
business or related activities who work as salesmen and managers. Md Mominul Haque, general secretary of Bangladesh Parishad, said the most-affected area is Jullies, 2-3 kilometres off Johannesburg.
Over 200 Bangladeshis were left penniless as their shops were damaged and looted by the agitators in this area, he added.
He said migrants also came under the attack all over South Africa. Many Bangladeshis lost everything and took shelter in safe homes of the Bangladesh Mission. The parishad also gave shelter to more than 30 Bangladeshis, Mominul added.
Officials of Bangladesh High Commission in South Africa say there are around 3 lakh Bangladeshis there. A small number of them are professionals, and others are mostly engaged in business.
Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to South Africa, on Thursday visited some areas in Johannesburg, where shops of Bangladeshis were looted. He also talked to the expatriates.
In a video message uploaded on Facebook, he asked the Bangladeshi expatriates to be careful when they went outside homes.
“Please call the police if you face problems. You also let us know in detail so that we can address your issues,” Shabbir said.
Bangladeshi expatriates in South Africa are in a mess situation following an anti-immigrant movement there, said High Commission officials and migrants.
Mobs reportedly vandalised and looted several hundred shops of Bangladeshi expatriates in the last week. There was no report any casualty of Bangladesh in the racist attacks, but they are living in fear and uncertainty over their future.
However, the situation seemed to be normal since Thursday, officials and Bangladeshi expatriates told The New Nation.
They said, the last week’s violence and looting of shops occurred in Johannesburg and its surrounding areas.
Similar incidents also occurred in the capital Pretoria on Monday, when local media reported shacks and shops burning in the Marabastad — a central business area largely populated by migrants.
Sporadic violence against foreign-owned stores and enterprises has a long history in South Africa, where many locals blame immigrants for high unemployment.
“They burned everything, a Bangladeshi shop owner Kamrul Hasan, 27, told the media adding that his shop gets attacked every three to six months.
“All my money is gone. If the (South African) government pays for my plane ticket, I will go back to Bangladesh,” he said
“I do not know of what is my future here. All of the goods of my shop, worth Tk 25 lakh, were looted. I fled the shop only with a shirt,” said Mominul Hoque, a Bangladeshi grocery shop owner in Johannesburg.
Mominul, who has been staying there since 2010, said he never saw such a huge violence there, though attacks by the locals on the immigrants, especially other Africans, were common.
Mobs suddenly attacked and looted nearly 40 shops in a neighbourhood of Johannesburg on Monday night. Some 18 of them are owned by the Bangladeshis, he said. “We tried to call police, but their phones were busy. Then we had to flee to save our lives.”
More than 200,000 Bangladeshis are staying in South Africa. Most of them are involved with
business or related activities who work as salesmen and managers. Md Mominul Haque, general secretary of Bangladesh Parishad, said the most-affected area is Jullies, 2-3 kilometres off Johannesburg.
Over 200 Bangladeshis were left penniless as their shops were damaged and looted by the agitators in this area, he added.
He said migrants also came under the attack all over South Africa. Many Bangladeshis lost everything and took shelter in safe homes of the Bangladesh Mission. The parishad also gave shelter to more than 30 Bangladeshis, Mominul added.
Officials of Bangladesh High Commission in South Africa say there are around 3 lakh Bangladeshis there. A small number of them are professionals, and others are mostly engaged in business.
Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to South Africa, on Thursday visited some areas in Johannesburg, where shops of Bangladeshis were looted. He also talked to the expatriates.
In a video message uploaded on Facebook, he asked the Bangladeshi expatriates to be careful when they went outside homes.
“Please call the police if you face problems. You also let us know in detail so that we can address your issues,” Shabbir said.
