Over four lakh expatriate Bangladeshis have come back home from different countries leaving or losing their jobs amid the outbreak of coronavirus. These expatriates are now passing their days in deep uncertainty about their livelihood. Economists have said that precise and effective financial measures should be taken up by the authorities concerned to sustain the expatriate Bangladeshis and to pursue economic diplomacy to get them reinstated overseas with proper jobs.
The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has slowed down the economic wheels of the whole world. Shops, offices, tourist spots, hotels, restaurants, factories etcetera were shut down for nearly one year which led to the retrenchment of a lot of workers including expatriate Bangladeshis. Under these circumstances, economists are concerned about the fact that what would happen to Bangladesh's economy if remittance inflow gets hindered.
The expatriate Bangladeshis who came back home from abroad in the middle of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, are borrowing money anew to pay back their existing loans. As a result they have come under monetary pressure. For this reason they are being compelled to reduce their expenditure on healthcare.
The above findings were determined through a survey of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The survey shows that 50% expatriate Bangladeshis have borrowed money from different sources as they faced financial crisis. More than half of the migrant workers who returned from overseas have stated that they each have taken loans of over one lakh taka. 28% expatriate Bangladeshis have informed that their loans are over 2 lakh taka each.
The IOM survey exhibits that returnee expatriates are facing financial challenges by more than 20% than the initial stage. At the first stage of the research, 50% expatriate Bangladeshis said that they have been plunged into monetary predicaments by the Covid 19 pandemic. At the second stage the percentage has gone up to 71%. Most of the expatriate Bangladeshis are not finding appropriate jobs, facing economic hurdles and having trouble to pay back their loans.
Moreover, the unemployment problem of the expatriate Bangladeshis has been further intensified by the ongoing lockdown. IOM said that it is pledge-bound to cooperate with Bangladesh government in rehabilitating the expatriate workers.
The survey was financed by European Union (EU). IOM further said that 87% returnee expatriates intend to go back to their overseas workplaces in Saudi Arabia, Brunei, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Italy and Malaysia.
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