Ministries must respond to public’s concerns
By ALISTAIR BAPTISTA
Published: 30th April 2007
HUMAN rights activists have slammed new legislation approved by parliament that bans expatriate bachelors from living in residential areas. Parliament passed the new law and also approved a proposal banning labour camps from residential areas and re-locating them to industrial areas last Tuesday.
However, activists are worried that it could be the first step towards creating a “ghetto” and called on parliament to reconsider.
The now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) says MPs should instead come up with legislation that will enforce decent standards of living for migrant workers, decrease overcrowding in labour camps and improve their health and living conditions.
Ministries must respond to public’s concerns
By ALISTAIR BAPTISTA
Published: 30th April 2007
HUMAN rights activists have slammed new legislation approved by parliament that bans expatriate bachelors from living in residential areas. Parliament passed the new law and also approved a proposal banning labour camps from residential areas and re-locating them to industrial areas last Tuesday.
However, activists are worried that it could be the first step towards creating a “ghetto” and called on parliament to reconsider.
The now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) says MPs should instead come up with legislation that will enforce decent standards of living for migrant workers, decrease overcrowding in labour camps and improve their health and living conditions.
“MPs have not asked that unmarried Bahraini men are banned from living in residential areas, only that the law applies to migrant workers,” it said in a statement issued to the Press.
The BCHR also criticised comments made during parliament’s session by MP Nasser Al Fadhala, who said expat bachelors use their accommodation to make alcohol, run prostitution rings and rape children and housemaids.
BCHR vice-president Nabeel Rajab added he was shocked by the move and said relocating labour camps to industrial areas “where few Bahrainis would choose to live” appeared to be the first step towards building a “ghetto where migrant workers would be segregated from Bahraini residents”.
“The solution is not to force migrant workers into ghettos, but to urge companies to improve living conditions for workers, not to accommodate large numbers of workers in inadequate space and improve the standard of living for them,” he said.
The BCHR called on parliament to set a good example by promoting harmony and peaceful relations between various communities living in Bahrain, instead of “exploiting people’s prejudices and fears”.
It also called for Mr Al Fadhala to apologise for his comments.
Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) deputy secretary-general Dr Abdulla Aldeerazi said the new legislation was a violation of the right to movement and could cause more problems instead of reducing them.
Dr Aldeerazi said that people needed to live in normal social situations to integrate with society better.
“The decision to have workers moved suggests that they are more like military people, who have to live in camps in certain situations like training or during war,” he said.
“Isolating them will not reduce social problems, but could in fact create other problems including sexual problems or psychological problems.
“They could suffer psychological problems if they develop the feeling of being unwanted because they aren’t allowed to live in a normal social setting.
Dr Aldeerazi condemned legislation that bans expatriates from living in residential areas as racist.
“Camps are densely packed, often without much access to facilities – such as cooking facilities – and when they are available they are used by many people and thus accidents, like the one that took place last year, could happen,” said Dr Aldeerazi, referring to the Gudaibiya labour camp fire in which 16 people died on July 30.
“They need to amend the labour law to improve things for both Bahrainis and expatriates.”
Meanwhile, Migrant Workers Protection Society action committee head Marietta Dias called for an alternative solution to what she described as an economic problem.
“This is purely an economic issue, as you don’t find many Bahrainis living in these camps anyway – just poor workers from third world countries, but we don’t see any proof that they are behind most crimes,” said Ms Dias.
“It’s a ridiculous decision.”
Ms Dias also said that most workers were forced to live where they did because it was all they could afford, or because sponsors provided them with only that.
She called on the government to ensure that sponsors provide adequate accommodation and transport facilities to and from worksites.
She said that in some cases, workers had to bear their own transport costs because they didn’t live close enough to a bus stop.
“Its not their fault if that’s all they can afford with their meagre salaries and are forced to live like cattle,” she told the GDN.
“The government should provide an alternative solution to the problem.
“Let the government build proper accommodation sites and the sponsors should house them in these places and provide transport – or maybe they shouldn’t employ bachelors to do their dirty work.
“If you push them far away from society, how will they even get to work in the first place?”
© Gulf Daily News