Coronavirus impacts overseas job seekers

s the spread of coronavirus across the world continues, its effect on overseas migration from Bangladesh is felt for the first time with Kuwait slapping a temporary travel ban on Bangladeshis and other six nationalities.

About 7,000 Bangladeshi workers who were about to complete the migration process and who returned home on leave are met with uncertainty following a ban on their entry into Kuwait, said recruiting agencies.

They told New Age that any upcoming embargo on hiring workers from Bangladesh put the overseas employment sector at high risk as the disease spreads with human contact.

Recruiting Agencies Okya  Parisad president M Tipu Sultan told New Age that several thousands of Bangladeshi workers with valid visas would not be able to enter Kuwait and China.

He said that there were about 2,000 Bangladeshi workers who were unable to fly to China, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus with their valid visas due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a circular on Friday, Kuwait government said that all arrivals in the state of Kuwait of the citizens from Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka , Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, who have valid residency or previous entry visa , as well as those from other airports, during the past two weeks were prohibited. 

Bangladeshi worker Md Rashed, who came to visit Bangladesh on a 20-day leave was in fear of not being able to return to Kuwait due to restriction on port entry.

‘I am worried about my return to Kuwait as my flight on Qatari airline is scheduled for March 10,’ he said.

Dhaka-based government officials and recruiting agents said that in the worst case scenario, if the Middle East got infected, some of the major destinations of Bangladeshi workers would close down.

Workers and rights activists said that Bangladeshi workers in some coronavirus-affected countries had reportedly been gripped by panic and were desperately trying to come back home.

Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training director general Shamsul Alam told New Age on Saturday that workers were going abroad with job visas as usual as there was no impact of coronavirus on them.

‘But I cannot predict what will happen in the coming days if the coronavirus affect the destination countries,’ he said.

About Kuwait, he said that the Kuwait authorities tightened the movement of foreign workers but was yet to stop recruitment from Bangladesh.

Kuwait, on Tuesday, made medical certificates for the nationals from 10 countries, including Bangladeshis, mandatory. But the state withdrew the restriction on Thursday following requests by the countries concerned.

Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies secretary general Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman said that Kuwait government decided to allow entry of migrant workers but the workers would be quarantined after reaching Kuwait.

Depending on the intensity of the spread of coronavirus, overseas jobs of workers will see a decline, he told New Age.

So far, Bangladeshi citizens have been infected with the virus in Singapore, the UAE and Italy. As a result, a significant number of Bangladeshis, working in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, Bahrain, Italy and Japan, are also struggling amid the ongoing outbreak.

The virus has already been detected in different Middle Eastern countries including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia restricted travel and Umrah visa to avoid movements of foreign nationals there.

Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Programme chairman Shakirul Islam told New Age that Bangladeshi workers in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Bahrain were worried over coronavirus infection.

He suggested that Bangladesh missions and embassies abroad should keep the migrant workers updated about coronavirus through providing online briefing to them with necessary advices.

The World Health Organization called the spread of the Coronavirus ‘deeply concerning’ as a wave of countries reported their first cases of the disease which has now killed nearly 3,500 people and infected more than 100,000 across 92 nations.

Bangladeshi national based in Venice of Italy Sharmin Alamgir told New Age that they were following government instructions on coronavirus and maintaining protective measures while going out of the residences.

The death toll from the new coronavirus in Italy has risen to 197 after the largest daily increase in fatalities there since the outbreak began.

Quoting officials, the BBC reported that 49 people had died in 24 hours, while more than 4,600 cases have been reported in total.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net