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Our migrant workers have always deserved better
We are a long way away from affording the kind of respect these workers have earned
The recent debacle surrounding the treatment of potential migrant workers to Malaysia shows just how little we value them despite their immense contributions to building Bangladesh for what it is today -- a nation that has quintupled its per capita income over the past two decades and is on the verge of graduating from a least developed country.
The fact that it was mismanagement by the authorities concerned that led to nearly 17,000 migrant workers failing to fly to Malaysia before their deadline tells us that we are a long way away from affording the kind of respect these workers have earned.
Just yesterday, this newspaper spoke of the importance of remittance, especially at a time when foreign reserves for the country show more volatility than ever before. That the agencies and personnel responsible for ensuring that our migrant workers are able to do their jobs are failing so spectacularly is simultaneously alarming and disheartening, painting a particularly grim picture.
We often speak of Bangladesh failing to reach its potential as a nation despite the strides it has made. It is incidents such as this, which circle back to a culture of neglect and disregard, that offer a painful reminder of how much better we could be as a nation if we did not have certain vested parties calling the shots, and the majority suffering as a result of it, reports DT.
Mismanagement and corruption have unfortunately become so commonplace that we rarely see concrete action being taken. However, if we are to be taken seriously as a global economy, not only must we do a much better job of supporting our migrant workers, who have always deserved far better than what has been afforded to them, but alongside it, identify and subsequently remove those within that are holding the nation back.