Two Bangladeshi migrant workers reportedly died in a fire in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday.
“I heard that two Bangladeshis have been killed though I do not know the details yet. I have instructed Daud Ali, Deputy Bangladesh High Commissioner to South Africa, to look into the matter,” Bangladesh High Commissioner to South Africa Md Touhid Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune over phone on Sunday.
Talking to this correspondent over phone, a Bangladeshi migrant Mohiuddin Babul in South Africa said the two deceased were Golam Faruk Dewan and Selim Dewan of Faridganj, Chandpur.
He said they used to work at a shop owned by one Babu, a Bangladeshi.
Few days before, some local native miscreants forcefully entered the shop to steal but law enforcers caught one of them who later disclosed the name of the other involved.
They were held in this regard. However, the miscreants got release after few days and sought vengeance, said Babul.
They set fire to the shop on Saturday night that killed the two Bangladeshis, he informed quoting witnesses.
Touhid Hossain said such incidents were taking place because of the dilapidated condition of law and order in South Africa.
“Whenever incidents of killings and robberies take place, we inform the law enforcing agencies in Johannesburg. Though they conduct enquiry, rarely any result is yielded,” Hossain said adding that 50 to 60 Bangladeshi migrants are killed every year in South Africa.
Secretary of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Zafar Ahmed Khan, who visited South Africa recently, said the number of killing of Bangladeshi migrants in South Africa was the highest in comparison to other nations including India and Pakistan.
“During our meeting, we requested the home minister of South Africa to look into the issue seriously that the Bangladeshi migrants are being attacked and killed,” he said.
He said the migrants who are attacked usually do not report to the law enforcing agencies, which is a reason for the inactiveness in handling the predicament. “We have instructed our migrants to report to the police whenever they are attacked,” Zafar said.
The Bangladeshis, who travelled to South Africa over last several years, are now successfully working in various sectors including entrepreneurship, officials of Bangladesh High Commission in South Africa said.
Though most of the workers go there on student visas and tourist visas they later receive political refuge from the South African government.
According to Bangladesh High Commission, about 60,000 to 70,000 Bangladeshis are currently residing in South Africa as migrants.
