When the labour minister in Jordan, Bassem Salem, was confronted with the National Labour Committee’s report about foreign workers (especially Bangladeshis in Jordan) he immediately and frankly announced that he finds the news “disturbing but not surprising.” Moreover Salem went on to elaborate what he intends to do about it.

When the Bangladeshi minister in charge of expatriate welfare and overseas employment, Mohammad Quamrul Islam, is confronted with the same information about the horrendous treatment faced by his fellow bangladeshis in Jordan he denies any knowledge of these things. He says “I have no such information about the matter.” His Director General at the ministry, ATM Atiqur Rahman, was similarly ignorant and unconcerned: “The embassy has not informed anything on it. Maybe, by next week, we will be informed.”

These statements betray their monumental negligence on all things concerning bangladeshi labour abroad. The minister and his chief bureaucrat don’t even have the political nous or will to make a statement that sounds caring and concerned. Why could they not even say this: “We are concerned by the reports and we are urgently seeking information on this matter.” The answer is simple - they don’t give a damn. Hence, as I discovered when i interviewed a recently returned worker, it is not surprising that Bangladeshi workers in Jordan have no faith whatsoever in the Bangladeshi embassy in Amman. What is the ambassador in Amman doing to justify his salary? Sightseeing?

Earlier posts on this:

Trafficking and exploiting Bangladeshi workers in Jordan (3 May 2006)
Stories from Dhaka: Migrant work in Jordan ( 14 March 2006)