‘Don’t turn the country into a death valley’

As the deadly coronavirus ravages the entire world, people of Bangladesh’s Shariatpur district who live abroad, share their concern. This correspondent talked to a number of immigrants, originally from Shariatpur, over the phone and social media.

Utpal Das and Bikash Das, two brothers from Bhojeshwar village of Naria upazila in the district, have been living in the Italian capital Rome for over 20 years.

On 17 January they came to Bangladesh to spend time with their families and returned to Rome on 24 February.

By the time they reached Rome, the novel coronavirus had already spread in Italy. As the government has imposed a lockdown to contain the epidemic, Utpal has been staying home since 10 March.

“Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis are living in a death hole in Italy. Though we had the opportunity to return to Bangladesh, we did not do so for the country’s safety. Developed European nations are struggling to contain coronavirus and people are dying every day. We can understand how vulnerable our country is as it has so many limitations,” Utpal said over Messenger on Monday.

Utpal urged those returning to Bangladesh to go into quarantine and protect the country. “We send money to the country and keep the economy running, but our lack of awareness has created danger for our own country. We cannot deny the responsibility. Our people will not forgive us,” he said.

Another man from Ghorishar of Noria who has been living in Venice for 15 years, said, “I decided not to return to the country as I may infect people including my family. It would put my country into great danger, but thousands of expatriate Bangladeshis have returned home. They themselves were infected and have infected their families too. I request those who have returned to the country to remain in quarantine for two weeks. Please, do not turn the country into a valley of death.”

Kishore Kumar from Kailara, Damuddya who lives in Venice said, “The weather in Italy is humid and the wind is cold. We are locked in home for 15 days. There is enough food in the house. My relatives in Bangladesh told me that the police there are marking the houses of the Italy-returnees with red flags.”

“I feel sad. We obey the Italy government orders when we stay here, why don’t we do that in our own country?” Kishore said on Monday over phone.

Suman Ghosh, another resident of Naria who comes from Moshura village and lives in Jamaica, New York, said, “I’m anxious about my relatives in Bangladesh. I feel guilty when I hear someone returning from the US has infected someone in the country. Why couldn’t we protect our own beloved country?”

According to the district administration, 150,000 people of Shariatpur live abroad among whom 80 per cent stay in Italy. Among the immigrants, 70 per cent come from Naria alone. Italy-returnees frequently travel to Shariatpur round the year.

As per the immigration police, between 15 and 18 March, some 2,838 immigrants returned to Shariatpur. Another 5,000 returned in a span of 11 February to 11 March. Among these, only 364 are in home quarantine while 158 have completed the quarantine.

So far, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has collected samples from two persons among these returnees of Shariatpur.

*This piece has been rewritten in English by Nusrat Nowrin.