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Sixteen migrant rights bodies and civil society organisations have made a passionate plea to the Prime Minister to create a fund for distressed migrants and their families in Bangladesh affected by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter signed by Dr Tasneem Siddiqui, chairman of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), they conveyed the plight and expectations of the migrants.
The migrants from Bangladesh in the Middle-East countries and elsewhere are experiencing immense hardship after losing their jobs or for becoming undocumented.
The flow of remittance, which is now $18 billion a year, is likely to dwindle in the future. They suggested that the government should increase incentives to keep the fund flow stable and create alternative jobs at home for those who are returning after losing jobs.
Migrants working in the Gulf, South-East Asian countries, Europe and America are anxiously awaiting a positive reply from the premier. The migrants, including those working under 'free visa', undocumented ones, small entrepreneurs, service sector employees in the Middle East as well as a large section of those working in Europe are now mostly jobless and without income.
In the absence of remittance, family members of the migrants in the country are facing food insecurity. The government has recently announced a Tk 2.0 billion fund for assisting the migrants. But for helping the vulnerable section of 10 million migrants and their families, such fund is not enough.
The organisations appealed to the Prime Minister for creating a reasonable amount of fund for the migrants from the government exchequer, not depending on the Wage Earners' Welfare Fund that has been created by the migrants themselves.
They protested the move by a number of countries to deport irregular migrants. According to international law, labour-receiving countries must provide protection to all migrants irrespective of their status.
What is more worrying is that many Bangladeshi workers in the Middle Eastern countries are facing food shortage as they have no money left with them. The workers alleged that there is lack of support from the authorities of those countries as well as Bangladesh embassies there.
The workers said many were having only one meal a day or passing their days half-fed. They would fall sick soon if the situation continues for a longer period.
The migrant workers' conditions are really vulnerable as they lost jobs because of the lockdown. As such, the embassies should keep regular contact with them and provide necessary assistances which they are not doing.
The embassies should work in coordination with the authorities concerned in those countries and the Bangladeshi community which have charities there. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for the large number of workers to even survive.
The embassies should also help the workers in receiving benefits from the governments of those countries. If needed, they can recruit more manpower in the embassies.
The Wage Earners' Welfare Board has recently provided Tk 8.0 million to the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia to meet the essential needs of the workers who are in vulnerable condition. This amount is far from what is needed. There are thousands of migrants in those countries who are in need of fund for meals.
Recently, the International Organisation of Migrants (IOM) said the international community must respond to the humanitarian needs of the migrant workers on a permanent basis.
Such a permanent tool will be of immense use for poor countries like Bangladesh who have limited financial resources to deal with such a crisis.