To cope with the impact of coronavirus pandemic, the Refugee and Migratory Movement Research Unit (RMMRU) on Saturday placed a set of recommendations, including formation of a fund for the families of Bangladeshi migrant workers having no earnings.   “It’s commendable that the government announced a fund of Tk 5,000 crore to pay wages of the workers employed in export-oriented industries. So, we’re demanding to form a fund similarly to provide loan without interest and donation in some cases to the families of the Bangladeshi migrants who remain workless abroad,” said RMMRU founding chair Dr Tasneem Siddiqui at an online press conference.   The RMMRU of the Dhaka University (DU), a centre for research and grassroots action, arranged the press conference to place a number of recommendations for the protection of the Bangladeshi migrants during the COVID-19 outbreak.   It also recommended ensuring protection of Bangladeshi migrants in different countries by conducting free COVID-19 tests and providing food assistance through the Bangladesh missions stationed abroad.   In this regard, Dr Siddiqui, also DU political science professor, said several Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia have announced that all immigrants – both regular and irregular — will be given healthcare services free of cost.   But the countries that have yet to come up with free COVID-19 testing and treatment for immigrant workers should be urged to provide such facilities immediately, she added.   “It’ll have to convince the countries that drawing difference between their citizens and immigrants during this crisis will in fact endanger the public health security of the countries,” said the RMMRU founding chair.   Noting that Bangladeshi embassies in foreign lands are making efforts to render services to the migrants with their limited resources, she said the missions informed the government about miseries of the migrants and requested to provide food assistance to them.   “The Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry has taken some measures in this regard. RMMRU is demanding immediate allocation from the government fund to implement these measures,” she said.   In many cases, many migrant workers live in unhygienic conditions in cramped places.  It is not possible to maintain safe distance to prevent the infection of this virus, she said adding that the Bangladeshi missions should inform the migrant workers how they can take cautionary measures in this regard.   The other urgent recommendations placed by RMMRU include promoting positive attitude towards migrants, providing food aid to migrants’ families in need, preparation of a database on migrants returned by the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry, making call to different countries to keep the organisations concerned with remittance process operational so that Bangladeshi migrants can send money to their families, considering the issue of increasing incentive to remittance inflow following the coronavirus crisis, and utilising the experiences of the expatriates, recently returned home from Italy and other countries, regarding preventive measures in case of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.   The RMMRU also placed a number of long-term recommendations including utilising skills of Bangladeshi migrants who returned home, and opening BSc nursing course in all public and private universities, introducing lab technician courses and other medical related courses in Technical Vocational Education Training Centres and Technical Training Centres as there would be huge demand of the skilled persons in the health sector during the post-coronavirus period.

To cope with the impact of coronavirus pandemic, the Refugee and Migratory Movement Research Unit (RMMRU) on Saturday placed a set of recommendations, including formation of a fund for the families of Bangladeshi migrant workers having no earnings.
 
“It’s commendable that the government announced a fund of Tk 5,000 crore to pay wages of the workers employed in export-oriented industries. So, we’re demanding to form a fund similarly to provide loan without interest and donation in some cases to the families of the Bangladeshi migrants who remain workless abroad,” said RMMRU founding chair Dr Tasneem Siddiqui at an online press conference.
 
The RMMRU of the Dhaka University (DU), a centre for research and grassroots action, arranged the press conference to place a number of recommendations for the protection of the Bangladeshi migrants during the COVID-19 outbreak.
 
It also recommended ensuring protection of Bangladeshi migrants in different countries by conducting free COVID-19 tests and providing food assistance through the Bangladesh missions stationed abroad.
 
In this regard, Dr Siddiqui, also DU political science professor, said several Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia have announced that all immigrants – both regular and irregular — will be given healthcare services free of cost.
 
But the countries that have yet to come up with free COVID-19 testing and treatment for immigrant workers should be urged to provide such facilities immediately, she added.
 
“It’ll have to convince the countries that drawing difference between their citizens and immigrants during this crisis will in fact endanger the public health security of the countries,” said the RMMRU founding chair.
 
Noting that Bangladeshi embassies in foreign lands are making efforts to render services to the migrants with their limited resources, she said the missions informed the government about miseries of the migrants and requested to provide food assistance to them.
 
“The Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry has taken some measures in this regard. RMMRU is demanding immediate allocation from the government fund to implement these measures,” she said.
 
In many cases, many migrant workers live in unhygienic conditions in cramped places.  It is not possible to maintain safe distance to prevent the infection of this virus, she said adding that the Bangladeshi missions should inform the migrant workers how they can take cautionary measures in this regard.
 
The other urgent recommendations placed by RMMRU include promoting positive attitude towards migrants, providing food aid to migrants’ families in need, preparation of a database on migrants returned by the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry, making call to different countries to keep the organisations concerned with remittance process operational so that Bangladeshi migrants can send money to their families, considering the issue of increasing incentive to remittance inflow following the coronavirus crisis, and utilising the experiences of the expatriates, recently returned home from Italy and other countries, regarding preventive measures in case of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
 
The RMMRU also placed a number of long-term recommendations including utilising skills of Bangladeshi migrants who returned home, and opening BSc nursing course in all public and private universities, introducing lab technician courses and other medical related courses in Technical Vocational Education Training Centres and Technical Training Centres as there would be huge demand of the skilled persons in the health sector during the post-coronavirus period.