Jamila's ordeal

The government appears to have taken up Jamila's case and seems set to take stern action against those responsible for her plight -- and this is commendable. But it cannot continue to act on an ad hoc basis in response to reports in the media -- a policy must be put in place to effectively oversee the manpower export business and to ensure that our expatriate work-force is treated humanely and that the human rights of the workers are protected.

Jamila's case is instructive. In the first place, since 1997 there has been a bar against sending female workers to the UAE. It is clear that the government needs to take serious action against manpower agencies that openly flout the law and continue to send workers outside in contravention of the rules and regulations. The first task before the authorities, therefore, is to track down the culprits who sent Jamila to Dubai and bring them to book.

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The government must take up the issue of migrant worker rights on a priority basis. For our part, we need to ensure that the workers have access to the designated labour office at the Bangladesh embassies abroad, so that necessary steps can be taken to guarantee that they are not treated the way Jamila was and many others currently are.

Overseas Bangladeshis repatriate in excess of $3 billion to the country annually. This is much more than the foreign aid that we get and constitutes a significant chunk of the GNP.

The very least the government can do for the migrant work-force and their families is to ensure that the rights of the workers are not violated and that they are treated with decency and dignity.