ABOUT 120 more Bangladeshi migrant workers returned home from Saudi Arabia on Friday night following a crackdown on undocumented workers there. Another 130 Bangladeshi migrant workers returned home from same country on Thursday night. According to a rough estimation, about 11,000 to 12,000 Bangladeshi workers have so far been sent back home by the Saudi authorities this year alone. Among the returnees, there were some who stayed in that country for even 18 to 19 years. Officials said that Bangladeshi workers have been facing crackdown in Saudi Arabia over the past several days. Even those who have the Iqama (valid work permit) in that country were also detained and sent to a deportation camp. But their employers did not take any effective measures even after being informed of their detention.
We’ve no such words to express our sympathy to the distressed migrant workers who went to Saudi Arabia spending a huge amount of money with a view to changing their fate. More than 400,000 workers leave Bangladesh every year for overseas employment. And majority of them go to Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia. But what’s miserable is that Bangladesh government not yet set any policy to send its migrant workers to abroad. For that reason, a good number of migrants have to come back home every year being deprived by their employers. Besides, many of them are often cheated by the brokers and fake man-exporting agencies. We’re observing this situation for decades. Now there is a new phenomenon — women migrants are being subjected to physical torture and sexually violation. Specifically, such cases are increasing in Saudi Arabia nowadays.
We know, a migrant worker has to spend Tk 500,000/- to Tk 1,200,000/- to go to Saudi Arabia with a job whereas the government has fixed the charge only at Tk 165,000/- for completion of the entire migration process. In the same way, to migrate to Singapore, Malaysia and some Middle East countries a worker has to spend up to Tk. 800,000 to Tk 10, 00,000. After spending such a big amount of money, it’s very painful for anyone to return home from there with empty hands. Why government is not taking any permanent fruitful measure to solve the crisis?
