Bonik Barta graph In an effort to get a better life for himself and his family, Saiful
Islam from Gaganpura village of Kishoreganj district travelled to Malaysia
eight months ago. He was promised a cleaner’s job that will pay him 1,500
Malaysian Ringgit, which is about Tk 35,000 a month. Borrowing from different
sources, Saiful paid a travel agency named Pathfinder International Tk 450,000
for the promised job. But, after arriving in Malaysia, he realized that he was
cheated.
Saiful is not alone. Many Bangladeshis like him face different
types of harassment abroad. They have to lead inhuman life. Some even die. The
victims or their relatives often approach to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment
and Training (BMET), the government organization responsible to deal with the
issues of the expatriates, to complain. But, BMET does not appear to be doing a
good job in this regard. The organization resolves less than half of thousands
of complaints it receives every year. Analyzing BMET data, it has been found
that in last five years, BMET could not provide any remedy for 61 percent of
the complaints it received. Even, those who do get some sort of remedy receive
very little financial compensation, claim the victims.
Mainly, the expatriates complain about four issues – no job after
arrival, complications regarding work or residence permits, wages and not
getting job as per the agreement. BMET is supposed to settle the complaints
about these issues.
An analysis of BMET’s five-year data shows that the rate of
disposal of the complaints about harassment and torture is the lowest in recent
years. Last year, only 865 out of 2,380 complaints were settled, which
represents only 36 percent. The amount of money received as compensation from
the resolved complaints stood at about Tk 48.79 million.
The year of 2022 saw the least disposal of complaints in five
years. Expatriates and their family lodged a total of 1,240 complaints about
harassment, torture and others. Of them, 567 were filed by women expatriate
workers. In that year, BMET settled only 339 cases and compensation worth Tk 16
million was realized. In 2021, there were 528 complaints of which 240 were
settled and compensation of Tk 18.2 million was realized. The number of
complaints in 2020 was 905. BMET settles 424 of them and realized Tk 24 million
as compensation. In 2019, out of 732 complaints, 375 were solved and
compensation of Tk 25.7 million was realized.
Badal Mia, a resident of Sakhipur upazila of Tangail district.
Last year, in order to change his fortune, he went to Saudi Arabia, an oil-rich
Gulf nation, through an agency named Soul Associate. Badal managed Tk 350,000 borrowing
at a high interest rate. According to the contract, it was a good job with
decent wages and residence permit. But, he did not get anything like that.
Instead, he was detained without food for days. He was also tortured. Later,
Badal was somehow freed, but could not manage any job. He now survives with the
money sent from Bangladesh. There was no response from the agency through which
he made his way to Saudi Arabia.
Badal’s wife Parveen filed a written complaint on July 13, last
year to BMET. BMET sent a letter to Soul Associate, but did not receive any
answer till now. As a result, Badal continues to suffer.
Same goes for Saiful Islam, a Kishoreganj resident, who is
currently living a measurable life in Malaysia. The local agency, after being
contacted, threatened Saiful Islam to send to jail. As a last resort, Saiful’s
father wrote to BMET four months ago asking for his son’s security and a good
job in Malaysia. Though responded positively, BMET is yet to settle the issue.
The findings of different organizations working on migration show
that people sell land, borrow from near ones and take loan at high interest
rates to go abroad. Sometimes, they lose everything they have. When they go to
their desired countries after facing so many challenges, they do not get
employed and if employed salary is not right. These are happening every day. At
the same time, the incidents of harassment at the workplaces, even deaths are
on the rise.
Several observations of immigration organizations reported that
families sell last inch of their property to send family members to foreign lands.
But, in many cases, they face extreme physical torture and violence, and even
some of them face death.
“The monitoring to stop harassment and torture is now not as
strong as it was earlier. As a result, the rate of disposal has gone down
significantly. Of course, the number of complaints has also increased. No
system is in place to address this. This is necessary,” Dr Tasneem Siddiqui, professor
of Dhaka University and Chairperson of the Refugee and Migratory Movement
Research Unit (RMMRU), told Bonik Barta.
She also said that the migrants have to pay several times more
than the amount fixed by the government and recruitment agencies do not provide
the receipts of the amount they take. As a result, the victims receive less
money as compensation.
According to people associated with BMET, the government agency is
obligated to dispose of the complaints of harassment and torture by the
expatriates. And, the complaints are supposed to be settled within a month.
There are many instances where victims and their relatives plead with BMET time
and again for the settlement of their complaints.
When approached to know about serious complaints of cheating, harassment
at workplaces and threat to life, the BMET top brass did not provide any
specific answers. The go-slow policy adopted by the organizations have created
frustration among the complainants. The suffering of the expatriates is getting
worse every year due to the failure of the officials with authority.
BMET Director General Saleh Ahmed Mujaffor told Bonik Barta, “Many
of the complainants live abroad. Their families or relatives complain on their
behalf. To prove allegations, statements of agencies and complainants are
required. Work is on to resolve the issues quickly online or offline.”
