[ALOCHONA] Comments on BD community in Arab News Daily by it's editor

Workers From Bangladesh Come in for a Bum Rap Tariq A. Al-Maeena, talmaeena@aol.com  (12.04.2008)

Workers From Bangladesh Come in for a Bum Rap Of late Bangladeshis have been attracting a lot of media attention, but mostly for wrong reasons. This group of expatriates has lately been unjustly maligned as a purveyor of criminal activity within the Kingdom's borders, and this sort of generalization is a gross injustice to the majority of the two million workers who come from that South Asian country. It is unfortunate that our media have focused on the misdeeds of a few to tarnish a whole group of hard-working expatriates who are performing vital services across the Kingdom. As a Bangladeshi reader recently lashed out, "Those behind the concerted campaign accusing Bangladeshis of a variety of criminal activities can congratulate themselves: They have succeeded in tarnishing the image of an entire people, among whom are doctors, engineers, teachers and professors, businessmen, consultants and executives as well as office assistants, cleaners, drivers, sweepers, guards, farmers, daily laborers and others — just like any other expatriate group in the Kingdom." And while it is common to perceive this group of guest workers as menial labor, one must be reminded of the fallacy of such perception. Indeed, Bangladesh is one of the poorer countries with a population of about 140 million and as is the case with any underdeveloped country, its people have to seek opportunities outside their boundaries. But that does not in any way diminish the character and honor of these guest workers. And among themselves, the Bangladeshis can stand up and be proud of the universal achievements of some of their countrymen. Who does not know of Mohammed Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist who won the Nobel Prize in 2006 for pioneering micro-credit lending schemes for the poor, especially women, in his country? His micro-credit ideas are now in practice in more than 60 countries in the world, including the United States. Or Irene Khan, a Bangladeshi who in 2001 became the first woman, the first Asian and the first Muslim to head Amnesty International's human rights movement. Bibi Russel is another, who started her life of fame as a model for a number of leading fashion houses like Emporio, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfield and Kenzo. In 1994 she began work as a Bangladeshi designer, putting Bangladeshi fashion on the map. Bibi employs some 35,000 weavers in her home country, and her company has expanded its services to include a number of products for the home — all of them hand-made in Bangladesh and popular all over the world. Fazlul Rahman Khan of Bangladesh, a structural engineer who designed Chicago's 100-story John Hancock Center and 110-story Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States since its completion in 1974. In 1998, the city of Chicago named the intersection of Jackson and Franklin Streets (located at the foot of the Sears Tower) "Fazlur R. Khan Way" in honor of the designer of the tower. Dr. Abdul Wabid, a devoted Bengali writer, the author of over 300 books and journals, and also an educationist, translator, columnist and researcher has been continuously enriching Bengali literature by his writings and research. They are among many Bangladeshis who through their skills and hard work have contributed domestically and universally. It is a crime to lump our Bangladeshi guest workers and discriminate against them on the basis of criminal activities by a few. Perhaps it may be of interest to analyze why some of these workers, and not necessarily just Bangladeshis, resort to criminal activity. Can it be that they are denied all their rights and exploited to the point they become desperate? No group of workers in this country including Saudis is bereft of criminal behavior. However, a few bad apples do not represent the entire body. Our failure to recognize that would be a tragedy indeed.

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com __._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___