Editorial
Agitating Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait
The problem calls for a speedy, purposeful solution
Bangladeshi workers, about 2,000 in all, have lately been agitating in Kuwait over demands for pay and a proper working and living environment. It now appears that the matter has taken a serious turn, with these workers, employed by a Kuwaiti firm, taking to the streets and getting into a situation where they have had to be brought under control by Kuwaiti police. Quite a good number of these workers have already been taken into custody. That is rather unfortunate, for a couple of reasons. The first is that the desperation of these Bangladeshis has become serious enough to compel them to agitate in public in foreign land. And the second is that the problem turned so serious as to force Kuwaiti police to club them back into order.
While we in Bangladesh do not in any way condone the violent activities of our fellow Bangladeshis in Kuwait or anywhere else, we cannot but remind everyone involved with their welfare, or the lack of it, that the demands they have lately been making should be taken into serious consideration. Obviously, the plight of the workers reached a point where they could not take things lying down any more. Given such realities, it makes sense to ask if the Kuwaiti authorities have taken any action against the employers and if here in Bangladesh the authorities have investigated the modalities upon which local agents of the firm sent these workers to Kuwait. These questions call for speedy, purposeful answers because a lot is at stake here. Such issues must not be allowed to vitiate the friendly ties that exist between Bangladesh and Kuwait, which is why we think our Foreign Office should take up the matter with the Kuwaiti mission in Dhaka and find a mutually satisfactory solution to the problem. We are happy to know that the Bangladesh mission in Kuwait has been keeping in touch with the situation and expect it to do all it can in order to ensure the professional dignity and safety of our workers. Meanwhile, with all these tales of Bangladeshi workers coming up against all sorts of difficulties in the Middle East, we feel the Bangladesh authorities should undertake a survey of the conditions in which workers from other countries live in the Middle East. It is important for us to find out if discrimination is being practised against our people.
It is clear from the workers' agitation in Kuwait that they are the victims of weak deals made by their agents and employing firms. It is here that organisations such as BAIRA must come in, through devising a centralised monitoring system that will oversee the terms and conditions under which our workers travel abroad. The goal should be to prevent or detect fraud before the workers find themselves in an untenable position in the host countries.
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