Come on Junaid. Do we have to still scratch the surface of words?
I never mocked the labourers. I went to the Embassy within an hour of
the disaster. I know what happened, how it happened and why it
happened. I know the then Defence Attaché, a Brigadier General, was
mistaken for the Ambassador and beaten up. I know the then Defence
Attache's office was mistaken for the Ambassador's office and totally
ransacked. I know the Ambassador, a political appointee and current
BNP grandee, was hiding in his office. I know the Sonali bank
reprentative saved the Ambassador by barricading the door. I know the
then Counsellor was hiding in the bathroom and took his shirt off to
appear as one of the labourers and save himself. I know which
manpower brokers support BNP and tried to warn the Embassy. I know
which manpower brokers support AL and paid for the buses to take the
labourers to the Embassy. I know which journalists support BNP and
blamed the labourers. I know which journalists support AL and blamed
the Embassy. I know which BNP officials were sent by the Government
to investigate the incident and labour problems. I know how they
deliberately avoided the truth.
To understand the texture, smell and composition of manure you need
to step into it first and stay in it for a while.
A European priest rallied the expat community in Kuwait to help 500
labourers starving in a camp. Many nationalities helped. Please have
a guess as to how many Bangladeshi organizations helped? Come on –
have a guess? NONE – and there are 150 organisations registered. In
the end it was only my group at a cost of a month's salary each.
So please – don't try to lecture me on Kuwait.
What do we know? That we are a first class country? I know that too.
Otherwise I would have taken my heart somewhere else a long time ago.
Yes we are a first class nation, with first class people and first
class potential. I can write a love poem to my village in 30 minutes.
But that doesn't mean we spend all day and night listening to a
million patriotic songs with no sense of shame about what goes on
around us.
We have to scream SHAME! SHAME! louder to be heard in a room full of
pride and arrogance and ignorance and patriotism. And with Bengalis
we have to provoke and offend and disturb – not just shout.
The far corners of the West and the remote corners of Bangladesh are
littered with the broken dreams of NRBs who went back to Bangladesh
to be part of the post independence glory. If we don't know what they
found and if we don't know how they were treated and if we don't know
how they were robbed then we don't know the story of NRB's. Some can
try to win an argument by playing on the complex guilty complexes of
NRBs – but it won't work on me honey.
I am the `people like these' that you mention. And to think we are
paper tigers is to underestimate our passion and our commitment. It
is to underestimate what we have done and we will do to take our
country back from the demons that have plagued our nation since
birth. Underestimate us as you want to. In a way it helps us : )
The CTG is NOT to be excused from helping our countrymen in trouble
abroad.
Make a list of all the female leaders of the modern era and tell me
which of them are intellectually brilliant and which of them are not.
Go on! You will find only 3 of them are not brilliant.
One is Winnie Mandela. The other two come from a first class country.
One is limping on one leg and the other is deaf in one ear.
Ezajur Rahman
--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "junaid.sultan" <junaid.sultan@...>
wrote:
>
>
> Mr. Saeed
>
> Thanks a lot for your very informative narrative. You have analyzed
the
> situation very correctly. Especially, when one gentleman in this
column
> was trying to mocker the poor workers who ransacked the Bangladesh
> Embassy in Kuwait and our "proud" nation. (I think this
> gentleman has immense love for his country. That is why he calls it
a
> third rate country). Thanks again for making us aware the real
reasons
> behind the sad happening in Kuwait years ago.
>
> The present situation and condition of Bangladeshi workers, as we
see in
> the newspapers, is worrying. Lack of initiative by the Government to
> negotiate and resolve this issue is disturbing also. Some high-up
must
> visit and reassure particularly the unskilled workers there. The
> Government is too busy planning the exit of Khaleda and Hasina but
these
> poor people have nothing to do with the politics of Hasina and
Khaleda.
> Why these poor people should be made to pay the price to get rid of
> these ladies. Even to think about it is a crime. Those who talk like
> this I invite them to leave their jobs, comeback to the country
(even
> it's a third rate country) and join the band wagon against Khaleda
> and Hasina. I bet they will not. As somebody rightly said in the
past,
> they are paper tiger only.
>
> For people like these, we also don't want Khaleda and Hasina to be
> PM again. To their beloved Moeen and Fakhruddin let them be the
> President and PM but we want them to leave their present positions
and
> come through proper channels (through elections).
>
> Junaid
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "saeedurrehman92"
<saeedurrehman92@>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I agree with Mr. Ejazur but I would like to add here that the
problem
> of
> > Bangladeshi manpower is much older than last 20 years. In fact it
> > started right from the beginning, in late seventies when
Bangladeshis
> > started going to Middle Eastern countries in mass scale. The then
> > Government did not have a very clear cut policy as a result a
skilled
> > Bangladeshi, even an Engineer, was paid less than his Indian or
> > Pakistani counterpart. If I limit my statement to Kuwait and Saudi
> > Arabia, initially, a worker could go there with relatively low
> > expenditure. However, with the passage of time, the export of
> unskilled
> > workers started increasing. The manpower exporters, who also
started
> > growing like mushrooms, were more interested in exporting
unskilled
> > manpower. These were poor people with low educated, come from
villages
> > and so were easier to cheat. Imagine, as of today, an unskilled
worker
> > has to pay Taka 200,000.00 to 300,000.00 to go to Kuwait or Saudi
> > Arabia, with average monthly pay of Taka 5,000.00 and a contract
of 3
> > years. Due to lack of a straight forward policy by any past
> Governments,
> > the sufferings of these poor people kept on multiplying. The
> Bangladesh
> > Embassy in Kuwait was stormed 3-4 years back by Bangladeshi
laborers.
> > The Kuwait media was very sympathetic to Bangladeshi workers at
that
> > time. The Kuwaitis realized that these laborers are not only low
paid
> > but unfortunately not timely paid also. But as usual, the
Government
> did
> > not pay any heed. Some time later a sitting Army Maj. Gen. who was
> made
> > ambassador in Kuwait, and who really made some moves for the
> betterment
> > of laborers, was removed prematurely because of his alleged
connection
> > to AL. Instead, a high profile office bearer of the party in
power was
> > made the ambassador of Bangladesh in Kuwait.
> >
> > I have narrated all this to explain that all Bangladeshi
Governments,
> > the past and the present, are interested only in the remittance of
> these
> > poor workers. It is painful to see the present regime is no
different
> if
> > not worse than the previous Governments. It is very difficult to
> > comprehend why they are following the ostrich policy to the
present
> > problems of 1.8 millions Bangladeshi labors in Saudi Arabia? As an
> > incumbent they are duty bound to tackle the issue. It is not
enough
> and
> > not acceptable to say that the problem was created by past
> Governments,
> > we are in power for a short time etc. etc. Perhaps they are
spending
> > all their time and energy to get rid of Hasina and Khaleda. With
this
> > agenda in mind, they have gone completely out of their senses.
Mind
> you
> > we are not interested in Hasina and Khaleda but we want to
survive.
> > Please for Heaven sake; concentrate on the welfare of the common
man,
> > though we underatand you are accountable to none.
> >
> > Regards to all
> >
> >
> >
> > Saeed
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "ezajur" ezajur.rahman@ wrote:
> > >
> > > No brother - almost all labour problems have built up over the
last
> > > two decades. Perhaps, you have forgotten that during the BNP
> > > government a thousand labourers attacked and ransacked the
> Bangladesh
> > > Embassy in Kuwait. Another great record for our proud nation.
Rest
> > > assured that the same attack would have happened under an AL
> > > government.
> > >
> > > This CTG will not last much longer. The questions are not about
the
> > > temporary struggles of the CTG. The real questions are :
> > >
> > > How do you feel about Hasina and Khaleda as PM again?
> > >
> > > What price is worth paying to be rid of Haina and Khaleda?
> > >
> > > Best wishes
> > >
> > > Ezajur Rahman
> > > Kuwait
> > >
> > > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Sajjad Hossain shossain456@
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > But most of the labour problem started since the CTG took
power
> > > last year. The Malaysia debacle, the recent Saudi nightmares all
> > > happened in the last one year. Why you blame AL and BNP. The
CTG is
> > > seeing the GHOSTs of these two large parties. I tell you that
is not
> > > good symptom. It is time to visit a Psychiatric.
> > > >
> > > > ezajur ezajur.rahman@ wrote: Dear Robin
> > > >
> > > > You accurately describe the situation.
> > > >
> > > > The people who betray our labourers first and then exploit our
> > > > labourers the most are actually ......?
> > > >
> > > > Other Bangladeshis.
> > > >
> > > > It is as nasty, ugly, cruel and absurd a situation as you can
> > > imagine.
> > > >
> > > > The Embassies are invariably weak but they are neither the
cause
> > > nor
> > > > the solution of the problem. Can you guess where the root of
the
> > > > problem lies?
> > > >
> > > > The root of the problem lies with politicians who PROMOTE AND
> > > PROTECT
> > > > this situation. You have to mix with the people involved to
see
> the
> > > > truth in all its ulginess.
> > > >
> > > > For every one labourer who commits suicide or dies from
depression
> > > or
> > > > hypertension (yes it happens more than you might guess)a nail
> > > should
> > > > be buried in the coffins of our most renowned politicians.
> > > >
> > > > Watch the AL and BNP writers.....
> > > >
> > > > They know that AL and BNP MPs work hand in hand with
recruiting
> > > > agents - cheating and ruining our labourers.
> > > >
> > > > But they will never talk about it.
> > > >
> > > > Why? Because they are clueless cowards who think that
attacking
> the
> > > > CTG absolves them of their own responsibility and their own
guilt.
> > > >
> > > > Have a grown man fall at your feet crying hysterically
because he
> > > was
> > > > cheated by a man power agent who was protected by an MP...
Then,
> by
> > > > God, you will feel some of the hatred that I feel.
> > > >
> > > > Maybe hatred solves nothing. But the lack of hatred gives
these
> > > > people all the scope they need to do what they want.
> > > >
> > > > The departure, or demise, of Hasina and Khaleda will expose
AL and
> > > > BNP for what they really are... Third rate parties lead by
third
> > > rate
> > > > people - in a third rate country.
> > > >
> > > > What offends us most? My last sentence? Or the weeping grown
man
> > > > cheated by his democratically elected MP?
> > > >
> > > > Best wishes
> > > >
> > > > Ezajur Rahman
> > > > Kuwait
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > ---------------------------------
> > > > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo!
Mobile.
> > > Try it now.
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
------------------------------------
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