Italy returnees rue missed opportunity
The Covid-19 outbreak hit Italy hard at a time when many Bangladeshi wage-earners and traders living in the country were hoping to increase their income during a busy tourist season.
A number of Bangladeshi expatriates who recently returned home said such opportunity would have helped them ease high living costs there, and support families back home better.
Jahangir Bepari, who runs a small business in the capital city of Rome, said a tourist season was about to begin in late March, and it would continue throughout April in upper Rome, where historic monuments like the Colosseum are located.
Bangladeshis who have businesses in such popular tourist spots could have saved about Tk 5 lakh in the season after meeting expenses, he said.
Following the outbreak, there is little scope for business in Italy. Besides losing foreign tourists, there is a chance that traders will lose local consumers drastically in coming months, he said.
Jahangir said another tourist season starts in summer, from early June when tourists throng sea beaches which is also an opportunity for many Bangladeshis to earn extra.
According to him, a Bangladeshi worker can earn between 1,200 and 2,000 euros (around Tk 1.09 lakh and Tk 1.82 lakh) while a small trader's income is about 3,000 euros (approximately Tk 2.73 lakh) a month.
To avoid the outbreak's impact on its economy, the Italian government has announced a stimulus package of 25 billion euros, which include measures to help cover workers' layoffs, according to media reports.
Returning Bangladeshi expatriates said compensation as per the announcement will help them little, considering the amount of loss they have to count.
They said as a consequence of the lockdown, a large number of Bangladeshis lost jobs in Rome and other major cities.
A few hundred of them returned to Bangladesh while the rest remained stranded there in precarious conditions.
Abdul Hamid, the owner of a pizzeria in Rome, said he is supposed to get 500 euros (about Tk 45,000) a month as compensation for the layoff period.
Hamid had to shut down his shop and allow leave to his two employees, before flying back to Bangladesh on March 15, amid financial hardships.
Even during the lockdown, someone staying at home still has to spend what amounts to 320 to 420 euros a month. At a normal time, the expenditure is more, he said.
"It's hard to live in Italy without a decent income," said Hamid (36), who migrated to the country from Mymensingh a decade ago.
Both he and Jahangir said they will not return there until the situation turns normal.
The compensation is like having something rather than nothing, said another expatriate, who was employed at a motor workshop as a mechanic.
The expatriate, who preferred not to be named, said the tourist season was a big opportunity for him and many other Bangladeshis to earn extra money. The workshop provides services to private cars which mainly see business from tourists, he said.
The expatriate, who hails from Cumilla, said his Italian employer cancelled his work contract following its closure due to the lockdown and asked him to be in contact.
Moin Uddin, another returnee, said many Bangladeshi workers he knows stayed back there due to financial hardships.
There are people who do not have enough money to buy plane tickets. They have no other choice but to stay back, said Moin, who is from Noakhali's Sonaimuri upazila.
The expat from Cumilla said there are some 8,000 to 10,000 Bangladeshis live in his neighbourhood, known as Bangla town. They are all in financial crises under the present situation, he said.
Ubaidul Haque, who lives near the famous leaning tower of Pisa, said he had been without a job for more than two weeks after the nightclub he worked at was shut down.
"The situation is worrisome. Everyone is out of a job," said Ubaidul, who is from Narsingdi.
Those who have stayed back will have to rely on their savings, he added.
"Undocumented workers will have to face bigger problems. No one cares about them," he said.
Badrul Alam, who lives in beachside town Fiumicino, said he returned home because he had to break into his savings. Besides, his family members back in Dhaka were also worried about him.
Upon their return, the expatriates were taken to Dhaka's Hajj Camp on March 15 for a mandatory health checkup. A day later, they were sent to home quarantine.
Italy is home to some two lakh Bangladeshis, including about 50,000 undocumented workers.
The country diagnosed over 47,000 known infections of coronavirus, and more than 4,000 fatalities from the disease, surpassing the number of China.
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