Coronavirus-hit countries: Expats lose jobs, face bleak future
Bangladeshi expatriates in some European counties, especially in Italy, find themselves in a precarious situation amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, with many of them left with no jobs and stuck at home without adequate supply of daily essentials.
Gripped by the fear of being infected, they are seriously concerned about their livelihood as their families back home in Bangladesh heavily depend on their income. They fear bleak days ahead if the situation does not improve.
After the outbreak, many European countries have taken some unprecedented measures to contain the spread of the virus. Those measures include enforcing lockdown, banning travel, shutting down shops, restaurants, bars, small businesses, and non-essential company departments. Tourism in those countries has also been hit hard.
Among those countries, the worst affected is Italy, home to nearly two lakh Bangladeshi expatriates, including some 50,000 undocumented workers.
The country so far has some 15,116 confirmed coronavirus cases. Among the infected, 1,016 have died.
Although the number of Bangladeshis found infected with the virus is still low, many of them have become jobless after the authorities shut down different business.
A majority of the undocumented workers are street hawkers, who have been hit the hardest, The Daily Star learnt talking to nearly a dozen Bangladeshi expatriates in the European country.
"We don't know how long this situation will continue. And if it prolongs, it will put us in grave trouble," said Afzal Hosen Roman, who has been living in Italy for the last nine years. Currently, he works at a restaurant in Rome.
He said Bangladeshis with valid job contracts might get some compensations, but the others would be in a "bigger trouble".
"Many families depend on the money these people send home. If they can't earn any money, how will they manage to pay their house rent in Italy and pay for the educational expenses of their children and take care of their old parents in Bangladesh?" he asked.
Another Bangladeshi expatriate named Palash Rahman, who lives in Venice, said all the hotels cancelled their reservations immediately after the coronavirus situation worsened.
The city, which attracts thousands of tourists every day, has turned almost empty, he said.
He also said there were some 12,000 Bangladeshis in the city in northeastern Italy. "They used to do decent jobs or business, but almost of them are now unemployed," he said, adding, "Some of them have already gone back to Bangladesh after it became impossible for them to maintain their costs."
Talking to these correspondents, another Bangladeshi, an undocumented worker living in Venice for nearly six years, said people there were facing a crisis of food and toiletries.
"People in their numbers are thronging the food stores and competing with each other to take what they need," he said, wishing not to be named.
Bangladeshis living in Germany, especially in the state of North-Rheine Westphalia where coronavirus cases are high, are also panicked, said Zobaer Ahmed, a Bangladeshi journalist working at Deutsche Welle.
He said sanitisers and storable food items were sold within hours at many supershops. "Bangladeshis living here are also storing food, including rice, lentil and canned food."
Another Bangladeshi expatriate living in Berlin said they too were facing a shortage of food and commodities like toilet tissue and napkins.
"Many Bangladeshis especially students left for their country since the situation started to turn bad," he said.
A couple of days ago, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that up to 70 percent of the country's population -- some 58 million people -- could contract coronavirus.
Talking about the issue, Prof CR Abrar, executive director of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, said no one was prepared for such an unforeseen development. "It would have a devastating impact on our remittance if the situation prolongs."
Although it is not an easy task, the Bangladesh government should extend its support to the expatriates and get engaged with the authorities of the coronavirus-hit countries.
According to Bangladesh's Wage Earners' Welfare Board, there are some 1.20 crore Bangladeshis working across the globe. They send home around $15 billion in hard-earned money, a lifeline of Bangladesh's economy.
Experts fear the remittance flow would be hit hard if the situation did not change soon.
In another development, the Bangladesh mission in Italy suspended its consular services until further notice on Tuesday.
The previous day, the mission asked Bangladeshis to communicate with it via phone in case of any emergency.
Contacted, Labour Welfare Counsellor Arfanul Hoque of the mission's Rome office said they urged the Bangladeshi expatriates to make phone calls for any services.
If the mission feels any expatriate has any emergency, the person will be asked to visit in person, he said.
On an average, some 250 to 300 Bangladeshis seek consular services from the Rome office every day and another 100 to 150 from the consulate general office in Milan, Arfanul said.
Under the consular services, the mission provides services, including issuance and renewal of passports, visas and different certificates, he said.
"These services have been suspended for now," he said.
Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed told The Daily Star that the situation was difficult for everybody.
"There is a limitation that we cannot go there and they also cannot come here. Even after that, we've alerted the local embassies to take steps," he said.
Replying to a question, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, "Of course there will be an economic impact. But the fact is that we don't know how long the problem will persist."
"It is a very difficult time. So it is tough to say anything right now. But we hope the situation will improve soon," he said.
At least four Bangladesh mission offices abroad suspended their different services, which limited expatriates' access to various needs and opportunities for the time being.
SITUATION IN OTHER COUNTRIES
A few days ago, Kazi Mamun, a Bangladeshi expatriate in Saudi Arabia, wrote on social media that he submitted his passport to the embassy for renewal, but was now facing problem in getting it.
"I want [to] go to home, [its] emergency," he said.
He wrote this after the Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh suspended its consular service tours for the months of March and April on the instruction of the Saudi foreign ministry.
In a notice issued on Tuesday, the mission discouraged service-seekers to visit the office in person and urged them to communicate by phone.
Mohammad Ashaduzzaman, labour welfare counsellor at the mission's Riyadh office, said they took the step as a precautionary measure.
He, however, said they were working to provide such service via expatriate's digital centres (EDCs) located in various cities.
The consular service tour takes place on Fridays and Saturdays when mission officials provide firsthand services, including issuance of passport, wage earner's card and consultation on legal issues, to service seekers.
In the changed situation, Bangladeshis have been asked to submit their receipts for passport to the EDCs. The EDC officials will collect the passports and hand those over to the owners, he said, referring to the notice.
He also said the Saudi authorities closed schools as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus outbreak.
Contacted, Golam Moshi, Bangladesh ambassador in Saudi Arabia, told this newspaper by phone that the Gulf country was very cautious about the outbreak.
The Bangladesh mission in Doha also suspended its two pre-scheduled services related to passport issuance dated for March 13 and March 20, according to a notice issued by the mission recently.
Bangladesh missions in Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq also issued separate notices in the past few days, urging expatriate Bangladeshis to take precautionary measures.
The Bangladesh mission in South Korea too suspended its pre-scheduled consular service dated for Sunday, according to a notice.
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