Helpline for BD expatriates living in S'pore launched

Things have changed over the last one year as the Covid pandemic stalks the world creating nothing but devastation in its wake. New rules and a new way of life have been adopted and Singapore is no exception to this. Social events are held in a much diminutive scale as compared to previously with a limitation in the number of guests. And with the current precautionary measures in place, migrant Bangladeshi workers are not able to get out of their dormitories without prior clearance and thus are unable to join the festivities. With all that in mind, this year, the Singapore Bangladesh Society had to resort to holding the May celebrations online with our migrant brothers.

Well, nevertheless the event turned out to be an absolute success and was heartily welcomed by the invited guests and the viewers online. The present President of SBS Zahirul Islam and former President Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, Welfare Secretary Hossain Md  Delwar were present as guests gracing this occasion. Also present were Singapore expatriates Ripon Chowdhury, Sharif Uddin, Omar Farooqi Shipon, Kabir Hossain, Zakir Hossain Khokon and Neel Sagar (Shahin). It was a myriad gathering of poets, writers, bloggers, activists, musicians, philanthropists and decorated individuals who had received high honors from the President of Singapore.

The program started with the SBS General Secretary Captain Emdad Hossain taking the floor highlighting the significance and importance of May Day. He expressed his gratitude to the expatriate Bangladeshi brothers in Singapore and lauded them for making Bangladesh proud by their achievements and noteworthy activities abroad. ‘’I hope you will continue this good work’ he said.

Welfare Secretary Hossain Md Delwar said, "We are proud of the work of our expatriate brothers. We want to know about their problems and stand by the expatriate brothers in their time of need.”

Then Kabir Hossain, an awardee of the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards 2020 for his humanitarian activities during Covid highlighted two problems of the expatriates in his speech. “As an employer, I know of two major problems for expatriates, which can be solved if steps are taken. One of the problem is the difficulties associated with passport renewal and the other one is the difficulties encountered by the Bangladeshi migrant workers in getting their in principle approval letter attested.

Zillur Rahman, former president of SBS, said, "We are one and the same:  Bangladeshis who are living in a land far away from home. This is our home for now or maybe forever and we should abide by the laws of this country we are living in. Politics related to Bangladesh should not be dragged into this country as it is forbidden by the law of Singapore.” Moreover, he urged everyone to continue their studies, try to get further skills and further degrees so that they can build a better future for themselves.

Then Sharif Uddin, Ripon Chowdhury, Zakir Hossain Khokon, Omar Farooqi Shipon joined into the discussion sharing their thoughts and experience in regards to the life of a Bangladeshi migrant in Singapore. It is noteworthy to mention here that these fine gentlemen had made tremendous waves in Singapore during their stay here. Sharif Uddin was awarded the 2018 nonfiction category at the Singapore book awards whereas Both Ripon and Zakir are renowned and decorated poets of the community. Shipon is an awardee of the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards 2020 for his humanitarian activities during Covid. Cutting short to the chase, the main aspect of their concerns lay in the gap between the High Commission and SBS with the Bangladeshi migrant workers which they believe will gradually fade with the advent of such endeavors undertaken by the Bangladesh Society. Their hopes lay in the direction of their Bangladeshi brethren in SBS to come forth and stand with them during their times of hardship and help them in solving their problems which rake the day-to-day life of many workers. Some of them also succinctly portrayed the some of the problems of the expatriates in their speech.

In his concluding remarks, President Zahirul Islam said, "I have taken note of your problems and we hope to convey your words to the appropriate authorities. And yes, we will stand with you and there should no doubt about that’ At this time, he praised the good work of the expatriates and said, "I am fascinated and inspired by all the good work you have done."

At this juncture of the program, the honorable President of the Society called the Welfare Secretary Hossain Md Delwar on the helpline phone and inaugurated the helpline number for the welfare of the Bangladeshi migrant community. This time, he said, the helpline has been launched for the welfare of the expatriate brothers. ‘You can call 90652205 and let us know of your problems and rest assured, we will definitely try to help. ‘

The launching of the helpline was greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm by the community as the program came to a close with everyone hopeful of better bonds, better solutions and cooperation in the coming days.

The program was superbly coordinated and executed by the SBS Welfare Committee and Dr Muntasir Mannan Choudhury, a surgeon working in Singapore and recently awarded The Covid Hero award for his exploits in fighting the pandemic in Singapore. He said “The intent behind the program was to highlight the good deeds and the same time the problems faced by the Bangladeshi migrant brothers in Singapore and I should say that we were successful in doing that".