Bangladesh - reflections on Malta as an immigration country

History shows us how Bangladesh in 1971, after it declared itself an independent country, became poorer still, as the rump of Pakistan fought a savage war to retain it, destroying a big share of its few assets and killing many of its best and brightest. It is no surprise that corruption is rife with government contracts often going to the party’s cronies.

The country’s financial system is littered with problems of State-owned banks weighed down by loans that well-connected borrowers decline to repay. Justice is delayed or denied and there is no point going to court: the party with the closer ties to the Awami League always wins. The tax code, which relies more on levies on consumption than on income or wealth, is also drafted in favour of the rich and politically connected.

Like Malta during the seventies, textile factories working on CMT are now the primary jobs for unskilled female workers.  Unlike Malta, which due to increases in labour cost and rapid diversification of economy, had to close down all textile factories yet in the case of Bangladesh (partly due to cheap labour) it became the second largest textile exporter in the world. An estimated 4.4 million workers are employed in the garments industry, with the majority being women. The sector contributes 11% of Bangladesh's GDP.

What is the point of comparing current iniquities which surfaced in Malta (such as the fraudulent privatization of three public hospitals and scandalous Electrogas as a major power provider) to the corrupt situation in Bangladesh. In our case, the middle class has flourished amid stories of political cronies who enjoy privileges on board the gravy train and sail on luxury yachts, while the poor and low-income cohort continue to slide closer to the poverty line. The illusion of affluence code named “L-Aqwa Zmien” has morphed into thin air and is now kept alive by recruiting more south Asian workers on precarious jobs.

Back to Bangladesh and abuses of its political system are beginning to be reflected in the economic data. Between 2010 and 2016 the richest households saw their income rise by nearly a quarter, while the poorest households saw theirs decline by a third. Zahid Hussain, a former lead economist on Bangladesh for the World Bank blames this factor on the rent-seeking behaviour of the elite. The World Bank estimates that corruption and sleaze knock two percentage points off gdp growth each year.

On a positive note, one appreciates that reforms have started by the prime minister and her Awami League party. It is fair to observe that these have overseen impressive growth and social reforms in a notoriously corrupt country. Due to such reforms, one can admit that Bangladesh now outpaces Pakistan across all standard economic indicators, including nominal gross domestic product, GDP per capita, GDP’s growth rate and foreign reserves.  Since separation from Pakistan, it started from a poor position, yet reforms have seen Bangladesh’s economy relatively fast improvement. Women from all corners of the country have come out of their traditional work roles to join the garment and other formal sectors of the Bangladesh economy.

This massive female exodus has become the cornerstone of the country’s economy. They are also, unfortunately, part of the “cheap” labour force and are easy targets for exploitation by the entrepreneurs who hope to make high profit margins from exports of finished garments. Observers reflect on the vast feminisation of the economy which has contributed significantly to GDP growth, yet unfortunately, it has not helped the vast majority of women to uplift their positions in society vis-à-vis the state.

For instance, MaltaToday reports how a Bangladesh journalist explained that in 2018, he made the bold choice to report against the corruption and fraud committed by the Bangladesh Awami League (AL). This provoked the AL into attacking him while he was taking pictures. After their election victory, the AL vandalized his house and supporters of the AL threatened to kill him. No action was taken by the local authorities in fear of the ruling party.

In these circumstances, the applicant had no other choice than to leave the country in 2019. Why is immigration a vital social valve for low-income workers of Bangladesh? What are the problems for millions of migrant workers who need to sever their roots in this Islamic country and travel thousand of miles to seek better living conditions.

Problems faced by Bangladeshi migrants include: high fees for migration charged by recruitment agencies, especially for low skilled jobs; low wages, lack of information on migration opportunities and risks; discrimination, exploitation and abuse while overseas; and insufficient services to protect the rights of workers.

Naturally, millions of Bangladeshi expatriates, particularly those registered as migrant workers, have been playing a crucial role in the development of Bangladesh by sending their earned money back home. Not only is this money supporting hundreds of thousands of families in Bangladesh but also contributing to the country's economic development. Readers may question how relevant are the economic and social problems of workers from South Asia countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Malays, Pakistan and India? These countries are the top choice for Malta’s policy concerning recruitment of TCN’s.

The recent invasion by TCN’s of Identity Malta has helped fill the acute scarcity of low-income workers needed to drive our buses, work on construction sites, clean streets, help in kitchen tasks, food service in hotels and restaurants, dangerously drive scooters to deliver fast food, man AirMalta airport reservation desks and many others.

As reported in the Times of Malta, Indian nationals often pay thousands of euros in agency fees to work in Malta only to find that the job promised to them does not exist. This was recently revealed by an NGO for Indians in Malta. As a temporary solution to stay in the country legally, they have to pay income tax through the agency despite earning no income. The manpower agencies then provide payslips to the Maltese government to “prove” these people are “working” in Malta. “It’s kind of a mafia” said Sanjolucy Leela, president of the Malta Malayalee Association.

To put migration into perspective migrants wanting to work in Malta directly without an agent costs less than €1,000. Those wanting to seek an official entry for a secure job use an agency. This will cost them four times higher at €4,000 and in certain cases €10,000.

Conclusion: having left the frying pan in their home town they arrive in Malta to face the fire.