Miseries of our expatriate workers
The Daily Star has recently published a report titled “Saudi crash kills 10 Bangladeshis”. This is really unfortunate news and our hearts go out for the bereaved families of those victims. Our economy depends to a large extent on the remittance inflow from our expatriate workers. We have nearly nine million expatriates working abroad. Regrettably, their families live in poverty and miserable conditions. Though they help in transforming our economy, their lot hardly changes.
As per a report by the Refugees and Migratory Movement Research Unit (RMMRU), Bangladeshis who travel to the Gulf and the Southeast Asian countries leave behind a trail of loans. Many even sell out whatever meagre land they have to meet the costs which are exorbitantly higher than our neighbouring countries. So our expatriate workers have to spend a good number of years abroad just to pay off their loan. Besides, misfortune befalls a family when an expatriate worker dies abroad. The family becomes completely helpless after losing their lone wage earner. Considering their contributions in our economy, I think the Bangladesh government should take more tangible actions to protect the expatriate workers and their families.
Ashek Sarker
Lecturer, Chhagalnaiya Government College
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