M M Jasim :
The volatile situation in the Middle East countries that led to the fall in income of the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) has hit hard the Eid shopping this year, as the NRBs sent less money home, according to shoppers and shop owners.
The remittance inflow into the country has been on the decline since beginning of the outgoing fiscal year (2016-17).
In July-May period, the remittance flow witnessed a 14 per cent drop over the figure in the same period a year ago.
The remittance stood at $11.55 billion in the 11 months which was $13.46 billion in the same period in the previous fiscal.
Relatives of the NRBs in Bangladesh expressed their apathy over the situation saying they are forced to cut Eid budget as their earning members failed to send sufficient money for Eid shopping this year.
“My father has been working in Saudi Arabia since 2007. We bought new and expensive dresses ahead of Eid. But this year my father sent no money for buying any Eid dress. That’s why we will celebrate our Eid without new dresses,” said Ariful Islam from Bhola.
Hanif Mia, a Bangladeshi migrant in Riyadh, said though Saudi Arabia lifted a seven-year ban on recruiting more workers from Bangladesh, many of those going there were actually with no jobs.
“The wage of Bangladeshis also dropped. If someone’s monthly wage was equivalent to Tk 30,000, it came down to Tk 20,000 to Tk 25,000 very recently,” he told this correspondent by phone.Shah Alam, a Bangladeshi migrant in Qatar, said, “My salary was Tk 35,000 last year. But in April this year the salary has decreased by Tk 25,000. now it is very difficult to bear my family cost. As a result, I was unable to send money to my family members for Eid.”
Nurul Absar, a shopkeeper in Feni, told this correspondent that most of the people depend on the income of the expatriates working in the Middle East countries. The Eid market is always good in Feni district. But in the recent times, due to the downward flow of remittance, the Eid market experiences a sluggish mood.
“I sell Tk at least 30-40 lakh in the month of Ramzan usually. But I sold Tk 25 lakh last year. And the situation also turned for the worst this time as the sales did not go beyond Tk 8-9 lakh till Monday,” Absar said.
Al Amin, another shopkeeper in Bhola, said, “We have been passing lazy time as sales are very poor this year.”
“Actually, the family members, whose earning members stay in the Middle East, buy many products from my showroom. In the recent times, many people returned from the Middle East countries due to job crisis. As a result, business goes slow even during the Eid season,” he said.
Migrant experts also admitted that the Middle East crisis has an impact on the Bangladesh economy.
Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury said although the traditional markets in the Middle East had cut labour recruitment from Bangladesh, a large number of workers are being hired from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka to meet their demand.
‘It is very unfortunate that we (government and BAIRA) are failing to send our workers to those countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Malaysia, in large numbers,’ he said.
About remittance, he said that Bangladeshi workers were earning low wages abroad due to global recession.
