Expatriate Bangladeshis: A neglected source of funds

Photo: SK Enamul Haq

£1.1m record-breaking success for the East London Mosque!" We should feel proud of this news headline as almost all the money was donated by expatriate Bangladeshis in the UK. On one night in Ramadan thousands of people helped break the fundraising record for the third year in a row. The generosity and enthusiasm of donors helped us reach a total of £1,125,725 on the night! Now the question is how much money are our government and non-government organisations (NGO) collecting as donation for disaster preparedness fund from expatriate Bangladeshis? The answer is, very little!
We are not prudent. If we face any trouble, we rush to solve the problem though, if we had prepared early, it could have been avoided or solved easily. Nothing good can happen without a plan. During the holy month of Ramadan, various mosques, madrasas and orphanages of Sylhet region collect huge donation through live fund-raising programmes on Bangla TV channels based in London. As the people of Sylhet region have a plan, they can utilise the opportunity to collect huge donation from the Bangladeshi community. Can't the government and NGOs take this opportunity to collect funds for disaster preparedness? Expatriates are good sources of fund, but we do not do anything about this.
My classmate Alahaji Fulla, an African, collected clothes, TVs, shoes, and blankets, and sent them to Africa. We should not wait for a disaster and then ask for money to overcome it. We need disaster preparedness. The Bangladeshi community can also do what Fulla did. If we can colect funds and goods from expatriates Bangladeshis, it would be a step in our journey to self reliance using our own resources.
It's easy to arrange a live fund-raising programme. If the Bangladesh High Commission in London contacts any Bangla TV channel, it will get a time slot. In return, the TV channel will take money. Definitely, Ramadan is the best time to raise funds. However, we can also consider our important national days e.g. Victory Day, Independent Day, International Language Day. NGOs can also try to raise funds through live fund-raising appeals. But it must be mentioned that the government has to convince the expatriate Bangladeshis that funds collected through live-fund raising will be properly spent and without any discrimination. If such trust can not be created, fund-raising attempts will fail.
In this regard, the role of our media is also important in motivating expatriate Bangladeshis as well as their relatives living in Bangladesh. Our expatriates read online Bangla newspapers regularly. If media publishes articles on expatriates' role in disaster preparedness, they will be motivated. Expatriates also get news from their relatives; thus, if the relatives are motivated, they can also ask the expatriates to donate money for disaster preparedness fund.
Community mobilisation is an effective tool for collecting donations. Who will ring the bell? The government should do it, not only in the UK but also in many parts of the world where our expatriates are holding important positions. There should be a separate wing for fund collection from our own community in Bangladeshi diplomatic missions. Its mission would be to expand the network with influential Bangladeshis. Based on the influence of these persons, community mobilisation will be effective. We must remember that demand is unlimited but resource is limited. The recent global recession has given us warning that the developing countries can't depend on foreign aid as the rich countries are passing tough times.
Many NGOs that are working on disaster management with foreign aid have received warnings from donors that, due to global financial turmoil, it is very tough to raise funds from the people in rich countries. We can't stay idle and blame others. We must have firm belief that with the assistance of our people, we will overcome disasters successfully and prove that we are self-reliant as a nation.

The writer is a Researcher & Development Specialist.