MPs’ proposal xenophobic say rights groups
Published: 26th May 2008
HUMAN rights and social activists have slammed a call by a group of MPs to ban Bangladeshis from living in Bahrain due to their alleged criminal nature.
The activists said that if Bahrain implemented the move, it would be in breach of United Nations laws on human rights.
They described the proposal as xenophobic and contrary to human rights laws, particularly after Bahrain won a seat on the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday.
MPs’ proposal xenophobic say rights groups
Published: 26th May 2008
HUMAN rights and social activists have slammed a call by a group of MPs to ban Bangladeshis from living in Bahrain due to their alleged criminal nature.
The activists said that if Bahrain implemented the move, it would be in breach of United Nations laws on human rights.
They described the proposal as xenophobic and contrary to human rights laws, particularly after Bahrain won a seat on the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday.
A group of human rights and other societies had then welcomed Bahrain’s election to the council saying the country would now be scrutinised from close quarters by international organisations.
The now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights vice-president Nabeel Rajab described the move as racist and shameful.
“If a Bahraini commits a similar or even worse crime what action would they take,” he said “Would they deport all Bahrainis from here?
“If an American or European had committed the crime instead of the Bangladeshi, would the MPs dare raise their voice against them, forget imposing a ban on their countries? This is pure racial discrimination.
“Something like this should not even be thought of or discussed.
“I am ashamed that this statement was made by a Bahraini citizen and above all an MP.
“Bangladeshis, like all other expatriate nationalities, should first be appreciated for all the contributions they have made to our country.
“Instead of that, our MPs forget the hard work and sweat of thousands of expatriates and plan to deport them all based on one person’s actions.
“This recent terrible incident should be looked upon as a crime committed by an individual instead of his nationality being highlighted.
“He definitely did not commit the crime because of being a Bangladeshi or any particular nationality.
“The man should be given the appropriate punishment instead of a whole community being attacked.”
Mr Rajab said that the Bangladesh Embassy has to take tougher measures in addressing the problem of their own citizens when dealing with host governments.
“Workers should be guaranteed their right not to be deported with prior review of their cases by an independent judiciary in order to ensure that their right to fair and due process is respected.”
Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society regional and international relations director Faisal Fulad said that the proposal was against Bahraini culture and heritage.
“We are against this move because it is absolutely wrong to ban a whole nation for one person’s crime,” said Mr Fulad, who is also a Shura Council member.
“The crime was committed by a person and not a community, so the criminal should be punished instead of tens of thousands.
“People from every country have flaws in their characters in one way or the other, including Bahrainis. That doesn’t mean that all of them should be sent back home.
“It is up to the court to decide the punishment and not MPs.”
Migrant Worker’s Protection Society (MWPS) action committee head Marietta Dias said that banning Bangladeshis was unfair.
“I don’t think this is fair at all to the tens of thousands of law-abiding Bangladeshis who are earning a decent living in Bahrain,” she said.
“Terrible incidents like this are expected in a society where different nationalities live together.
“What happened to the Bahraini victim and his surviving family is indeed very appalling and has no justification.
“But the punishment should be directed towards the person rather than the nation he comes from. “This is human rights violation and racial discrimination.”
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© Gulf Daily News
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/story.asp?Article=218469&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31067
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Ban on workers ‘will spell misery’
By Begena P Pradeep
Published: 26th May 2008
ALL Bangladeshis could be expelled from Bahrain by the end of this year if a proposal by a group of local MPs is approved by parliament, it emerged yesterday.
The proposal by Al Asala bloc follows the death of a Bahraini who was killed in an attack after an argument with a Bangladeshi mechanic at a workshop in Suq Waqif, Hamad Town on Friday.
The worker demanded BD1.500 for welding machine repairs, but Bahraini Mohammed Jassim Dossary insisted on paying BD1, sources told the GDN.
Following a heated exchange, the worker attacked him with a grinder.
Mr Dossary reportedly lay bleeding on the road for some time before he was helped.
He was declared dead at BDF Hospital where he was rushed with severe neck injuries.
The man has been arrested and detained for seven days pending further investigation and medical, technical and police reports, the Public Prosecution said.
He is charged with premeditated crime and will stand trial after the investigations are over.
The seven-member bloc plans to submit the proposal to parliament when it reopens in October after the summer break.
They will set a timeframe to expel all Bangladeshi workers, currently said to be around 90,000 in Bahrain, and stop the recruitment of new ones.
“It has been observed that people from the Bangladesh community are involved in many ugly crimes and murders,” bloc member Abdulhaleem Abdulla Ahmed Murad told the GDN.
“We don’t want to live with people of such criminal nature. We have been receiving many complaints and requests from Bahrainis to get rid of Bangladeshis from their neighbourhood.
“They were worried for their lives and families.
“Now after the murder of the Bahraini, our people who live in areas that are mostly populated by Bangladeshis are afraid even to step out of their homes.
“Why should we live our lives like mice in our own country because of foreigners?
“Bangladeshis seem to have a culture different even from other Asian expatriates, which we find hard to adjust to.
“They are involved in murders, robberies, drugs and prostitution, which is a threat to social security in Bahrain.
“It is not possible to deport all Bangladeshis from Bahrain at once.
“So we will set a timeframe within which they should be sent home and all the while, no new Bangladeshi should be allowed into Bahrain.
“We are not against a particular group and not saying that all Bangladeshis are bad people.
“But this is their general nature and we don’t know who is good or who is bad.
“If you look at the crime records of the past two years, Bangladeshis are the ones who have committed the most shocking and gruesome crimes.
“We don’t want to risk any more of our people’s lives and this decision is in the best interest of Bahrain.
“We need some time to study the after-effects of our proposal and need to discuss the issue with Bahrain’s Labour Ministry and Interior Ministry.
“Then the proposal will be submitted to the parliament when it reopens after summer.”
Mr Murad pointed out that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were successful in banning Bangladeshis from their countries and that Bahrain should follow suit.
Saudi Arabia’s Labour Ministry had clarified in March that the decision to stop hiring Bangladeshis was in the housing and agricultural sectors.
This decision was taken because the quota fixed for Bangladeshi workers in Saudi was over, according to a top Ministry official.
The official’s clarification came amid rumours that Saudi had halted hiring Bangladeshis altogether after media reports pointed to their involvement in most of the criminal acts.
The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry in May last year said that a decision to suspend the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers to Kuwait was taken because of the crimes committed by them.
It has suspended hiring them citing increasing incidences of crimes.
The country had decided to ban Bangladeshi workers in 1999, apparently because a worker strangled his 90-year-old employer, stole his money and fled.
They lifted the ban a year later following the signing of a technical agreement between the two countries.
However, Bangladesh Embassy hopes the Bahrain government would consider their citizen’s murder as a “discrete incident” and “not punish” the entire Bangladeshi community for one person’s misdeed.
“We want Bahrain to consider this unfortunate and sad incident as a discrete one and hope the government will not choose to ban the entire community for one person’s crime,” embassy first secretary Ibrahim Muhammad told the GDN.
“There are more than 90,000 Bangladeshis living in Bahrain and everyone should not be punished for the actions of one person.
“We fully acknowledge that many of our citizens are engaged in various crimes which is frustrating for us and we plan to organise a motivational campaign.
“We will educate the people to report any of their problems to the concerned authorities instead of taking the law into their own hands even if they get desperate.
“Bangladeshis represent the second largest expatriate community in Bahrain.
“They are working here as engineers, policemen and other security personnel, doctors, teachers, financial experts, accountants, business management officials, hotel management staff, chefs and service staff, salesman, bakers, mechanics, plumbers, masons, carpenters, tailors, hairdressers, construction workers, cleaners, drivers, and domestic aides.
“Bangladeshis own or run about 200 grocery shops or cold stores, Internet call centres, small restaurants and saloons centred in Manama, Muharraq, Hamad Town and East Riffa.”
Mr Muhammad also pointed out that Dhaka has not yet lifted a ban on their housemaids from travelling abroad to any country in 1998 to protect them from abusive employers, though the policy was implemented in Bahrain in 2004.
Embassy Charge d’Affaires Saiful Islam expressed his sincere sympathy and condolence to the family members, relatives and friends of the murdered Bahraini.
“The news has shocked and saddened me and the Bangladeshi community in Bahrain,” said Mr Islam.
“There is no doubt that this sad event has created a very disturbing situation for the Bahrain government, its citizens and for us, the Bangladesh government and the Bangladeshis living here.
“I know that my condolences cannot relieve the pain in the minds of the bereaved family members, friends and relatives of the victim, but I can assure that the Bangladesh government would like to see the perpetrator of the crime dealt with according to law.
“Our government has also expressed shock and sadness at the news of the death.
“They convey their heartfelt sympathy to the members of the victim’s family.
“We hope that bilateral relation with Bahrain would not be affected as a consequence of this incident.
“We assure all assistance in the trial process of the suspect. “We, the Bangladeshis, are thinking of them in their sorrow and they have our sincere condolences.” begena@gdn.com.bh
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© Gulf Daily News
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/story.asp?Article=218474&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31067
