KUWAIT CITY : About 1,200 Bangladeshi workers have been deported from Kuwait so far over the last few days, says an official at the Bangladesh embassy, who requested anonymity. “We have learnt through sources that about 1,200 of Bangladeshi workers have been deported since their arrests last week. Of these, there are cleaners who had been awaiting repatriation for quite some time. We have also requested the concerned authorities to provide us the exact number of our workers arrested by them,” added the official. Sources told the Arab Times that some Bangladeshi workers were arrested in Jleeb Al-Shouykh on Friday.

Commenting on the issue, the official admitted that the embassy was aware of the incident but could not provide any details. He added that the embassy has asked the Kuwaiti authorities to ensure that no innocent workers are deported. When asked whether the deported workers were paid their dues, the official said: “We will take up the issue with the Kuwaiti authorities and ask them how they’d arrange the payment of the outstanding salaries to the deported workers.” He also went on to say that workers’ strikes are “almost coming to an end” and that cleaners of some companies were demanding a written commitment indicating that their demands would be accepted. “We are hopeful that all workers will go to back to work soon and the embassy and the ministry officials continue to visit the camps to assess the condition of the workers.”

By F. A. Clifford Cardozo
Arab Times Staff