The crisis in the Saudi Arabian labour market, airport attacks or security threats, flight cancellations, visa uncertainties, or the stranding of workers—each of these incidents raises a cruel question for Bangladesh: How prepared is the state to stand by the workers whose sweat enriches the country's foreign exchange reserves in times of trouble? Are we as diligent in ensuring the safety and future of migrant workers as we are in tracking the remittances they send?
This is not merely a question of administrative weakness; it is a question of state priorities, economic foresight, and the dignity of the citizen. We often call migrant workers the warriors of the economy and remittances the lifeblood of development.
Yet, when a crisis unfolds without an effective protection plan for them, a deep inconsistency manifests in this very philosophy of development. Can a state that considers the earnings of its citizens as national wealth ignore their personal misfortunes or sudden disasters?
Saudi Arabia is one of Bangladesh's most important labour markets. A large number of Bangladeshis work in various sectors such as construction, transportation, sanitation, and domestic work in Saudi Arabia. If employment there becomes restricted, recruitment policies change, or regional security situations deteriorate, thousands of families and the Bangladesh economy simultaneously come under pressure. However, over-reliance on a few labour markets, limited skills, and inadequate preparation for alternative employment have made our migration system vulnerable.
Have we ever accurately assessed at the national level how many workers would be affected if recruitment in Saudi Arabia decreased for a few months, how many families would lose income, and how many people would be unable to pay off loans? What alternative employment and financial security arrangements will be made if the crisis is prolonged? Without answers to these questions prepared in advance, one cannot escape responsibility citing unforeseen circumstances. Disasters may be sudden, but preparations to mitigate their damage are not made suddenly.
Finding an opportunity in a country's labour market and making one's future dependent on it are not the same thing. Bangladesh should consider the foreign labour market not just as a chance to send workers, but as part of national economic security. We become eager to send workers when demand increases in one or two Middle Eastern markets, but when the market contracts, there is a lack of long-term preparedness for alternative employment, rehabilitation, and financial security. As a result, labour migration has become largely an opportunistic system rather than a planned economic strategy. The goal of a farsighted state policy should be that a crisis in one market does not plunge thousands of people's futures into uncertainty.
When air travel is disrupted due to war or security threats, it is the workers who are most affected. These include those who have returned home on leave, workers going to join new jobs, and people stranded abroad. If flights are canceled, the cost of tickets is wasted, deadlines for joining jobs are missed, jobs are lost, visas expire, and the costs of accommodation and food increase, creating a risk of losing income. These situations are beyond the control of workers. Therefore, the government's responsibility is not only to inform about the situation but also to ensure effective solutions.
Ensuring reliable information is essential from the outset. Information on which airports are operational, which routes have flights, who are stranded where, and what assistance they need should be regularly updated. Without an integrated information system among embassies, consulates, airlines, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare, and relevant authorities, people will rely on rumours, fall into broker-traps, or move from one office to another seeking solutions.
The government should create separate lists for workers stranded in Saudi Arabia, those unable to return to work after coming home, and those waiting to travel with new employment. A coordinated digital database should be established by registering their location, visa duration, job contracts, employer's identity, outstanding salary, and financial liabilities.
Support priorities should be determined based on the type of problem through the exchange of information among embassies, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare, the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET), airlines, and recruiting agencies. It is important not only to know the number of affected individuals but also to regularly communicate how many problems have been resolved.
From the beginning of a crisis, multilingual hotlines, online registration, and emergency assistance desks need to be activated. Stranded workers should be provided with food, safe accommodation, medical, and legal assistance according to their needs. For those needing repatriation, coordination with the Saudi authorities and airlines is essential. Additionally, regular updates on flight status, alternative travel routes, and government guidelines must be provided to prevent them from falling prey to rumours or deception.
The most urgent requirement is negotiating with the Saudi authorities for visa extensions, job retention, or legitimate re-employment for those at risk of losing their visas or jobs. Direct communication with employers is necessary to ensure the return of workers stranded at home to their workplaces. For those waiting to embark on new jobs, arrangements should be made for ticket rescheduling, refunds, and alternative flights without additional costs. Initiatives to ensure alternative employment should be legitimate, verified, and consensual for the worker.
In addition, an urgent special fund for financial aid, food, accommodation, medical, and legal advice should be activated. Provisions for temporary loan payments, installment rescheduling, and financial aid according to the situation could be initiated for those who have taken loans to go abroad but are unable to join their jobs. The government needs to coordinate with financial institutions and relevant recruiting agencies. Flight cancellation news might be a headline for a day in the media, but for a worker's family, its financial implications could turn into a prolonged crisis.
A permanent emergency protection fund and risk-based work plan for expatriates is essential. Precisely what aid will be provided during war, pandemics, flight suspensions, or a sudden contraction in the labour market, who will perform what responsibility, and where the funds will come from should be predetermined.
During a crisis, an embassy's role should be a reliable sanctuary for citizens. Expatriates must not be left to find their path alone due to a lack of effective hotlines, updated instructions, grievance resolution, and emergency legal aid. Thus, adequate personnel and effective communication systems must be ensured in the labour welfare wing of embassies. Migrant workers should be under state protection not just during the period of foreign travel, but throughout their entire employment.
Most importantly, these initiatives must be integrated within a time-specific national work plan instead of remaining isolated administrative activities. For each grievance of an affected worker, a tracking identification number should be implemented, notifying the worker and their family about which officer is responsible, when the resolution will occur, and what progress has been made.
It is more important how many workers' jobs have been saved, how many visas have been extended, how many have received back wages, and how many families have received emergency aid than how many meetings the government has held. The real measure of administrative action is not the number of meetings, statements, or assurances but the tangible solutions to the affected workers' problems. Transparency in crisis management is not an additional courtesy; it is a fundamental responsibility of a state operating on public funds.
The ongoing crisis in Saudi Arabia warns us: Will we revert to old dependencies with temporary initiatives each time, or will we establish alternative markets, skills, social security, and accountability systems? Crises will eventually pass. But if there is a lack of preparation and over-dependence on a single market, the same situation will recur in subsequent crises.
It must be remembered that a migrant worker is not a remittance machine; he or she is a citizen, the last hope for a family. If the state merely observes the situation during a time of danger, the claims of development remain incomplete. Crises will come, but leaving the citizen alone is not inevitable. It is a test of preparation, policy priority, and state accountability. The expatriate's money is the country's wealth; their life is the state's responsibility.
#Dr. Selim Reza, Associate Professor & Coordinator, Centre for Migration Studies (CMS), North South University.
*Opinions expressed here are the author's own.
#The article, originally published in Prothom Alo print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam