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3,000 Bangladeshis lead ‘slave life’ in Yemen

Staff Correspondent
Around 3,000 Bangladeshis who were hired for jobs in Yemen are now working there in conditions close to indentured servitude.
This came to light after Immigration Department ofYemen arrested 15 Bangladeshis at the Yemeni city of Sana'a for not having proper permits, reported Yemen limes Wednesday
However, the daily on Sunday received a letter titled "Bangladeshi nationals are suffering" that referred to the 15 arrested Bangladeshis and provided details on how Bangladeshis are cheated and left in bad conditions.
The letter said a number of Bangladeshi brokers with the support ofYemeni sponsors were bringing in job seekers from Bangladesh with tourist visas promising high salaries of up to $500 per month.
"After bringing these potential workers to Yemen, brokers engage them in inferior jobs illegally, which don't match what they were
offered," the paper quoting the letter said.
"However, they mostly find themselves working as cleaners at restaurants and companies or construction workers," the letter said, adding, "Most of the time, they don't provide work (at all)."
Fhe letter revealed the names of four major Bangladeshi brokers--Kabir Hussein, Anamul Hoque, Harunur Rashid and A Rahman.
According to a reliable Bangladeshi source in Yemen, the brokers receive $4,000 for each Bangladeshi worker.
The source requesting anonymity to Yemen Times said at present there are at least 3,000 illegal Bangladeshi workers in Yemen who ended up taking menial jobs because they have no other choice. They receive between $ 100 and $ 130 per month, approximately three dollars a day.
According to Yemeni labour laws, foreigners are not allowed to work in Yemen without proper labour permits issued by the Yemeni govern-
ment. In cases like these, foreigners are frequently arrested and deported.
"For this reason, so many poor Bangladeshi innocent people are suffering in Yemen," said the source. "Some of them are unemployed and some are working illegally on very low wages, which aren't sufficient for their livelihood."
The source added that a number of these Bangladeshis lice to neighbouring countries like Saudi Arabia through dangerous and often illegal ways, hiring smugglers to help them cross the Yemen-Saudi border.
"The immigration of Bangladeshi workers started increasing from September 2007," said the source. "Every week, 20 to 30 Bangladeshi workers come into the country."
The Yemen Times contacted die department of immigration in Yemen but representatives from the department refused to comment on the issue.