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Download PDF Dhaka has stepped up diplomatic efforts with Male to ensure the safety of 25,000 Bangladeshi workers in the Maldivian capital, following a string of attacks on Bangladeshi workers, including murders, in the past month.
High-level diplomatic sources said Bangladesh High Commissioner to the Maldives Mijarul Quayes told the local authorities last week that he is worried about the future Bangladeshi workers’ presence if the government cannot guarantee security there.
The warning came following a number of attacks on dormitories of Bangladeshi workers in Male, and a brutal castration and murder of a Bangladeshi worker in another part of the Maldives.
Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A Chowdhury publicly aired his concerns regarding the worker’s safety on Thursday, and sent a letter to the Maldivian foreign minister urging that “all necessary steps be taken to ensure safety and security of Bangladeshi workers in the Maldives”.
He has also asked for “enhanced measures” in this respect, referring to the “mutual trust and understanding that are the hallmarks of our bilateral relations,” according to a foreign ministry press release.
Acting foreign secretary Touhid Hossain told The Daily Star that the Maldives’ foreign and deputy foreign ministers had called Bangladesh’s High Commissioner in Male and gave assurance of a probe into the attacks and murders.
Foreign ministry officials allege that based on information received from Male, they feel that Maldivians’ indifference to the fate of Bangladeshi workers borders on a state of intolerance and denial of rights.
The high commission in Male has sought answers from the Maldives foreign office after each of the last three incidents and the high commissioner met Maldivian Home Minister Abduallah Kamaldeen to demand greater police protection.
But, Quayes also told Kamaldeen that they are growing increasingly impatient with the lack of police protection of Bangladeshi workers and the Maldivian government should give out visible signs to demonstrate their seriousness about the issue, foreign ministry sources in Dhaka said yesterday.
Otherwise, Dhaka has told Male that they might withdraw existing workers en masse if the Maldivian government does not take confidence-building measures among the migrant workers’ community and ensure their security.
In a country of only 300,000, Bangladeshi immigrants provide essential cheap manual labour in the tourism and construction industries.
Personal accounts from Bangladeshi workers in Maldives suggest they have been targeted for theft and violence in Male, with a recent trend of mobs attacking Bangladeshis in their own homes as they are incapable of voicing their concerns to authorities.
Hundreds of Bangladeshi workers have called the High Commission in Male over the past week fearing for their lives and safety. Sources said the disproportionate suffering of the migrant workers and the failure of the local police to ensure their safety has angered Dhaka.
The Bangladeshi High Commission asked for round-the-clock police surveillance of the Bangladeshi workers’ dormitories in Male, after they were attacked on four successive nights from August 1, leaving three injured and one hospitalized.
Sources said, the police surveillance and protection has been inadequate as a mob of 50 Maldivians attacked the dormitories with rods, sticks and glass bottles on August 18. Four people were seriously injured from the incident, sources said.
The incident came a week after a Bangladeshi worker was found tied to a tree by his employer for nine days in Male. Another Bangladeshi worker was castrated and murdered on August 14 on the northern island of Kulhudhufushi.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:12 pm
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August 31st, 2007 at 3:30 pm
There is an urgent need for the safety of our people there.
Seem to be attacked regularly by Broots & therefore, It is wise to ask our people to leave the country & seek help from UAE to help them under humanitrian Islamic laws.
Thank you.