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Stranded expats face big job woes


Published : 04 Oct 2020 09:59 PM | Updated : 05 Oct 2020 01:29 AM

Bangladeshi expatriate workers now stranded at home due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic are exposed to fear and uncertainty as their longing for returning to their respective foreign countries has been eclipsed.

The corona epidemic has hit foreign employment or immigration hard as many businesses, industries and infrastructures have been shut down in different countries. 

Some of expatriates have lost their jobs while some of them have been stuck on vacation.  Fear of losing work permit is haunting the expatriate workers. 

In such a situation, these expatriates are not getting any opportunity to go abroad as the air communication is closed. 

Expatriates have stumbled upon plane tickets after the news of the launch of air communication in Saudi Arabia, the largest labor market abroad.

According to the Bangladesh Biman authority, 1 lakh 27 thousand 209 workers have returned to the country from abroad in the last 5 months. Among them 1 lakh 15 thousand 506 are men and 11 thousand 703 are women. This number is increasing day by day. They have returned to Bangladesh from about 32 countries. The highest number of returnees is 36,533 from the United Arab Emirates.

It is known that most of the workers who have returned to the country came from the United Arab Emirates. As many as 44,616 people have returned from the United Arab Emirates in coronavirus situation. Of these, 41,460 are male workers and 3,156 are female.

Among the expatriates who have returned to the country, there is a risk of losing job abroad. 

According to various sources, about 7 lakh expatriates are stranded in the country due to the closure of flights.

Although Saudi Arabian expatriate workers’ akama and visas have been extended by employers, many are still worried about getting scheduled tickets.

Meanwhile, it is seen that the expatriate workers have protested in front of the Saudi Airlines office in the capital demanding tokens on Sunday morning. They gathered in front of the Sonargaon Hotel in Karwanbazar and blocked the road.

The situation was later brought under control by deploying additional police. Meanwhile, many people have crowded in front of Biman Bangladesh Airlines in Motijheel to get tickets for the scheduled day.

A large number of expatriates could not return to Saudi Arabia due to corona. For the past few days, they have been protesting in various parts of the capital demanding an increase in the number of visa validity and tickets.

Demonstrations also took place in front of the Secretariat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka. One of the 7-point demands of the expatriates to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates is that their leave should be automatically extended for another three months.

Kamal Mia, a Saudi expatriate, said, “There is a syndicate behind the manipulation of Saudi Airlines tickets. They are not giving tokens properly. There is no discipline.”

Experts said that in this situation, the government's diplomatic efforts need to be intensified. Arrangements have to be made for the workers to go abroad again. Affected expatriates need to simplify the process of obtaining loans. The incentive package of Tk 700 crore announced by the ministry need to be implemented soon.