More than a thousand Bangladeshi workers died of unnatural causes including workplace accidents around the world in the past 16 months.
But the authorities at home appear to be indifferent to the untimely deaths of the migrant workers who remit huge amounts of foreign currency, boosting the country’s economy.
Officials concerned, however, said there was little they could do to reduce the number of unnatural deaths.
A senior official at the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board said an initiative was taken to carry out research on the deaths of Bangladeshi migrants.
“But we could not continue the research as a number of embassies did not provide information,” the official, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Some 1,026 migrant workers died unnatural deaths between January 2013 and April 2014, according to thewelfare board.
A total of 3,451 workers died overseas during the 16-month period, including from natural causes, such as diseases.
According to the board, a total of 2,496 bodies of migrant workers arrived at Dhaka’s international airport last year, mostly from the Middle East.
Of them, 738 diedof unnatural causes, including 558 workers who were killed in accidents at work. The others died in road accidents,house fires or were murdered.
In the first four months of this year, a total of 955 migrants died abroad, 288 of them in accidents, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.
There was no data available on the number of dead bodies arriving at airports in Chittagong and Sylhet.
“It is a matter of great concern that a large number of Bangladeshi migrant workers die unnatural deaths every year,” Shawkat Hossain, secretary to the expatriates’welfare and overseas employment ministry,said yesterday.
But the secretary could not specify any steps taken by the ministry to reduce the number of such deaths.
“We are communicating with the ministries concerned of the destination countries,” he added.
Tasneem Siddique, chair of the Refugee and Migratory Movements and Research Unit at Dhaka University, said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure healthy and safe working environments for Bangladeshis working abroad.
“We have no information as to why migrants die,” Tasneem said, adding, “We need to carry out post mortems ourselves.”
She also suggested that the government raise the issue of workers’ deaths at international forums on migration.
