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Bangladeshis in foreign jails

The question which is being raised in different circles is whether those in jails in different countries get the necessary legal and financial support from the country's missions abroad. There are allegations, which sometimes are not without basis that our people who remitted about $6.57 billion last year (2007), do not always get the necessary legal aid and cooperation from Bangladesh missions abroad.

Nurul Huda
NOBODY can give the exact number of Bangladeshis who have been languishing in foreign jails for committing crimes or traveling without valid documents. At least 12,000 Bangladeshis out of 50 lakh working in different countries (as per the record of March, 2008) arc in jails in different countries.
Of those in jails, over 2,500 have been convicted while the trial of others is at different stages of progress as per the record of the Ministry of Overseas Employment and Expatriate Welfare. A total of 9,995 Bangladeshis are in Saudi Arabian jails, where over two million of our people have been working.
At least 1,000 Bangladeshis arc in jails in Malaysia, which is a major source of manpower export for Bangladesh. The number of Bangladeshis in jails of
UAE, another major source of manpower export, is 627 while 225 are in jails in Singapore.
Of those in jails, 922 have been convicted in Saudi Arabia and 574 in UAE. The number of our people convicted in Kuwait is 209 while in Singapore the number is 217. 398 were convicted in Malaysia while in the Russian Federation the number is 92 ( Record ofMarch,2008).
In addition to these, 90 Bangladeshis have been convicted in Bahrain, 31 in Oman, 26 in Hong Kong, 35 in Iran and 14 in Qatar. Some Bangladeshis are in jails in Macau, Finland and Switzerland. Nobody could give any idea whether any Bangladeshi is in jail of the United States of America or in the Maldives, where a big number of our people live
The question which is being raised in different circles is whether those in jails in different countries get the necessary legal and financial support from the
country's missions abroad. There arc allegations, which sometimes are not without basis, that our people who remitted about S6.57 billion last year (2007), do not always get the necessary legal aid and cooperation from Bangladesh missions abroad.
It is believed that the release of many of those who have been convicted in different countries is possible through serious diplomatic efforts. In this context, it needs to be mentioned here that diplomatic missions in Bangladesh from time to time get their nationals freed through diplomatic efforts.
We are happy that the Bangladesh president has sought clemency for eight Bangladeshis who have been awarded death sentence in Saudi Arabia for the murder of an Egyptian.
According to the secretary of the Ministry of Overseas Employment and Expatriate Welfare. Abdul Matin Chowdhury, any Bangladeshi
facing problems in a foreign land, and seeking help in writing, usually gets the necessary legal and financial help from the government. Those who are freed, having served jail terms, or who are stranded for traveling without valid travel documents, are given financial support out of the government's Wage Earners' Welfare Fund, which has a deposit of Tk. 150 crore.
The question which has been haunting us is: Why do Bangladeshis facing problems in foreign countries have to seek help in writing from Bangladesh missions abroad. Cannot the officials take initiatives on their own to extend help to those who need it? The salary and allowances which they get are the country's tax payers' money. Should it not be obligatory on their part to extend necessary help and cooperation spontaneously to those who need it?
In view of limited employment opportunities at home our people have been desperately looking for Jobs abroad. A section of recruiting agencies, taking advantage of the situation, have been alluring people with lucrative job offers in different countries. The picture will become clear from the number of com-
plaints received by the relevant department of the government against the unscrupulous recruiting agencies.
The lust for money of some recruiting agencies also becomes clear from the fact that 118 people who were promised lucrative jobs abroad were brought back home with the help of the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) from Libya and Iraq in 2007. This year, 91 Bangladeshis returned home with the help of IOM from Iraq and Greece. So far, there are no official arrangements for manpower export to Iraq, but racketeers have reportedly already sent some hundred Bangladeshis to that troubled-torn country.
What is wanted is that the government should initiate urgent diplomatic efforts to bring back those who have been sent to different places of Iraq by the manpower racketeers and are in helpless condition there. Those who have been cheated by the manpower racketeers in the name of lucrative employment opportunities in Iraq should get their money back with the help of the relevant agencies of the government. Meanwhile, some of those involved In the illegal manpower export to Iraq have report-
edly been taken into custody.
As many as 827 complaints against the recruiting agencies were received by the relevant department of the government from 2001 to December 2006. A total of 732 cases were settled, and more than Tk4.50 crore was recovered, and also distributed among the complainants. The government also disposed 259 out of 348 complaints received against the recruiting agencies in 2007. And about Tkl .90 crore was recovered from the recruiting agencies, which was distributed among the complainants last year (2007).
The extent of the foul game played by some of the recruiting agencies with those seeking jobs, particularly unskilled and semiskilled people, has been partially reflected by the official figures of complaints received against them.
Let us hope that the number of Bangladeshis in different foreign jails will be reduced by obtaining their release through serious diplomatic efforts by the government. Stern action should be taken against all those responsible for sending the Jobs seekers with forged documents and promises of lucrative jobs.
Nurul Huda Is a Special Corrospondenl of BSS.