ILLEGAL foreign nationals of different African and bordering countries, including India and Myanmar, are increasingly indulging in criminal activities such as drug peddling, human trafficking, illegal VOIP business, smuggling, contact killings, as reported in local media. This is making the situation tense for the government and the people. Apart from this, intrusion of the foreign nationals, mostly from India, into the internal job markets is narrowing the scope for the local job aspirants in the garments, telecommunication and other technical areas. It is the duty of the government to monitor the illegal foreigners strictly to maintain law and order and to oust them from the domestic job markets.
Almost all the dailies on Saturday carried a report that the Detective Police on Friday arrested 31 foreign nationals, including two women, of 10 African countries from the capital during a massive crackdown on the foreigners staying illegally in Bangladesh. The drive came a month after an Algerian national Abuubaida Kadir allegedly murdered O-level student Zubair Ahmed in Uttara. Kadir has been staying illegally in the country for more than a decade. Following Zubair’s killing on October 4, detectives started preparing a list of foreigners staying illegally in the country and their whereabouts. Around 400 policemen in 32 separate groups raided 147 places in the city’s Banasree, Gulshan and Uttara areas, checked documents of 375 foreigners, and arrested 31 as they could not show valid documents in favour of their stay.
The police said passports and visas of some of the arrested foreigners were found to have expired and they were illegally overstaying in the country from anywhere from two to twelve years. According to the existing law, if the charges against them are proved, they might face a maximum of five years in prison. Special Branch of Police said around one lakh foreigners, mostly from African and South East Asian nations, are living in the country illegally for years, but no drive to hunt the illegal foreigners has been made before this instance. Officials said around 8,000 nationals of different African countries are involved in various crimes, which becomes a headache to the law enforcers.
Police said the African nationals mainly entered Bangladesh as football players or students while others came with tourist visas and then over-stayed. In many cases, they destroy their passports and other travel documents so that law enforcers cannot verify their nationality to repatriate them upon arrest for criminal offences, said intelligence officials. Security analysts consider it as a grave security threat also.
With the wave ‘of globalization, such movements have become more frequent, but if the government remains reluctant, the situation will only worsen. Besides, the government should strongly dictate telecommunication, large RMGs, and other manufacturing companies to recruit local people by providing necessary training, if necessary. We strongly feel, in view of the domestic job market limitation and the security risks the government should deal with the issue of illegal foreigners’ staying in the country undisturbed.
