BD Government to collect data on expatriate suicide cases Rabiul Islam; The government has asked Bangladeshi missions abroad to collect data on incidents of suicide amongst expatriate workers, amid concerns over a “rising” tendency for them to take their own lives. “We have sent letters to our foreign labour wings with instructions to collect data on the suicide cases of migrant workers,” said Md Ziauddin, director of administration at the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET). This development is part of a government plan to gather information on the deaths of migrant workers categorised in terms of causes of death- suicides, accidents or other causes. “We sought reports on all sorts of deaths in order to study the reasons which caused them and to take steps accordingly,” Ziauddin told. Officials at the BMET said there were concerns that an increasing number of migrant workers were choosing to commit suicide out of frustration. Information collected from the Expatriates’ Welfare desk at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport also confirmed these concerns. Sources at the airport’s expatriates’ desk said they had received bodies of workers who had committed suicide in many countries, including Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Lebanon. Expressing its deep concern regarding the issue, the labour wing in Oman earlier this year expressed its concerns in writing, seeking government intervention, saying the number of unnatural deaths was increasing day by day. According to the letter, 10 unnatural deaths of Bangladeshi migrant workers were recorded in Oman in just three months. Of them, six were cases of suicide. The letter also mentioned that the incidents were “widely” discussed and debated in Oman, where suicide is not a regular phenomenon, and that the suicides “tainted” the image of Bangladesh in Oman. “Those workers appear to have committed suicide out of frustration and personal grievances,” it read. The letter suggested organising special pre-departure sessions to help workers better cope with the environment of a foreign country. Mohsin Chowdhury, the director of expatriates’ welfare at the BMET, also spoke about frustrations emanating from “unfulfilment” of promises and expectations, especially those associated with their jobs. “We do not know yet how many Bangladeshis died from suicides or the reasons that pushed them to kill themselves. Living a life away from family can also cause desperation sometimes.” He also commented on a media report which estimated that 76 people died from suicides in the last ten months, saying the number “is not exorbitant” when compared with the millions of Bangladeshis living abroad. Merina Sultana, programme manager of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, a research organisation affiliated with Dhaka University, stressed the importance of counselling and improved performance of labour attachés. “There can be many reasons why an expat becomes frustrated. The labour attachés have a greater responsibility to take here in removing those causes of distress,” she said. The country’s economy depends a lot on the money remitted by the migrant workers all year round, which makes it all the more necessary for the government to take special care of them, she added.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 18:52:27 +0000
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