AS more than two hundred Bangladeshi workers have been rounded up by a recent drive against illegal foreign workers in Malaysia, Bangladesh government has decided a “no action” policy in extending help of any sort to these remittance earners, UNB and a national daily reported. Malaysian the Star Online reports a total of 1,565 illegal immigrants have been arrested by authorities under a recent ‘Ops Sepadu’ midnight drive. Those arrested include 695 Indonesians, 225 Bangladeshis and 157 Myanmar nationals.
The Bangladesh mission in Kuala Lumpur has decided to provide an ‘out pass’ to these detained workers as an exit way to home from Malaysia. No cost of travels will be borne either by Bangladeshi or Malaysian government. So failure to returning home due to lack of money will lead the migrant workers ending up in Malaysian prisons again. Eventually nearly 400 illegal Bangladeshi workers detained so far by the Malaysian law enforcers will have to rot in Malaysian prison for indefinite time with uncertain future. No legal aid will be available to them either.
It is indeed true that these insolvent labourers were warned previously and given a chance to leave Malaysia without facing any legal proceedings. But, however, as the events unfolded and eventually scores of foreign currency earning Bangladeshi citizens passing perhaps one of the most critical moments in their lives, is Bangladesh embassy doing enough to protect its citizens?
If the government, in anyway, thinks otherwise about paying from its own treasury for the return tickets of this workers then the government could and should pay this from the expatriate welfare fund. In fact the first and foremost job of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment is to extend a hand of help when expatriates are in need of help. What more help an expatriate possibly would be in need of than that of the impoverished day-labourer rotting in Malay prisons simply because of lack of ticket money?
In an ideal case situation, no Bangladeshi citizen should stay in Malaysia or any other country illegally. But there is a different side of the story. Estimates in an article in Financial Express have it that, a remarkable fraction of the estimated 7 million Bangladesh’s proud remittance earning workers in abroad is “illegal”. So they do share a sizable portion of the $12 billion yearly inflow of remittance.
Since Bangladesh government seems not “unhappy” receiving the money sent by these “illegal” Bangladeshi migrant workers and their deposit in the foreign currency accounts remain not only fully legal but also the nation celebrates their earrings, the government cannot show a blushingly shy face when it comes to bailing them out in an alien land which has become rough and tough lately.
