Most Read

Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait

27 May 2005, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Shafiq Ahmad Engineer, Kuwait National Petroleum Co
27 May 2005, 18:00 PM
The incident that occurred at the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait the other day is not only very regrettable but is an eye-opener too. Nobody with little bit of common sense can support rowdiness at any place and at any stage. However, it is time to ponder why it happened at all. I am residing in Kuwait for more than 10 years. With pains I have noticed that Bangladesh Embassy staffs have done nothing or very little for Bangladeshi community. Unfortunately, I share the same feelings with many others. The honourable Ambassador of Bangladesh cannot and should not evade his responsibility by saying that nobody informed him about the non-payment of the wages of those poor workers. Does not he or ministry of manpower know how much a labour has to spend to come to Middle East even for a miniature work? What is the average salary here for a Bangladeshi worker? And if they don't know, should I tell them that not only me but everybody knows here that an unskilled worker from Bangladesh has to spend Taka 100,000 to Taka 150,000 to come here.

It is hard to believe, but it is true and even a clerk in the Embassy knows that the average monthly pay of a Bangladeshi labour is equivalent to only Taka 3500 to Taka 4000 only, which means that even if he gets his pay regularly and saves everything he earns, he needs two to three years to recover all the spending he incurred to come over here. Unfortunately, this equation is not true as for his survival he needs to spend some. And above everything the irony of the fate is that in lot many cases he is not paid regularly.

Very sadly and knowing fully all these simple details, the staff in the Embassy have no time to ponder on this. A Bangladeshi worker is the least paid worker amongst those of all other nationalities. No serious attempt was ever made to negotiate for a minimum salary for him. But he has to survive also. Back home he has a family to support. He has to pay back the loans to friends and relatives he took from to come over here.

Google News LinkFor all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

Only way out for him is to do some part time job like car washing, domestic help etc. etc. Part time work is not legal here but to me it is still acceptable. But to earn more money in shortest possible time, he may get involved in immoral activities. There appears report almost daily in the local newspapers that some Bangladeshi men and women caught red handed indulged in immoral activities. Of course they are not the good name for the country.

Still there are some unfortunate who could not find a part time job. You may find any of them standing at the road intersections and traffic signals begging. He has to survive too. What a name we are earning for our nation. Honourable Minister for Manpower is happy that he managed to export so much of manpower. Honourable Finance Minister is happy that remittance has increased and foreign exchange is bulging. But at what cost?