Bangladeshis Banned by Bahrain

by Daniel Pipes
Wed, 28 May 2008

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Imagine this scenario in a European country: A Bangladeshi migrant worker, a car mechanic, is charged with a premeditated murder, accused of slitting the throat of a European national with a hacksaw due to a disagreement concerning payment for work done on the victim's car. The murder outrages some local government officials, who claim Bangladeshi immigrants are behind the nation's growing crime problem and demand the deportation of more than 100,000 Bangladeshi laborers. For example, a member of parliament calls on the government to "put a timetable for the deportation of Bangladeshi laborers … after their repeated involvement in murders and other crimes." In response to this outcry, the interior minister announces, just three days after this incident, and as a result of it, that immigration permits will no longer be issued or renewed for Bangladeshis.

Can you imagine the hew and outrage that would result were a European country to take these steps?

But this exact scenario just took place, not in Europe, only in the Persian Gulf, in the emirate of Bahrain. And there has been hardly a sound of protest, either domestically or internationally, with the minor exception of small Bahraini contracting companies that depend on Bangladeshi labor and the Bangladesh government itself, whose embassy head meekly promised to "appeal to the government to reconsider this … we will ask them at least to delay implementing this restriction."

Comment: (1) Western ways differ very deeply, and on nearly every level, from those of the Middle East and the Muslim world. (2) In all likelihood, economic imperatives will wear down the interior minister's edict and plenty of Bangladeshis will continue to work in Bahrain. (May 28, 2008)

Related Topics: Immigration, Persian Gulf, South Asia

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Reader comments on this weblog entry

Title	By	Date
bangladeshi work force bahrain. ban uplifted. [111 words]	resident of bahrain for 9 years	Jul 30, 2008 23:06
The Deportation of Bangladeshis [74 words]	Sarah	Jul 22, 2008 08:11
Hew and Outrage? [40 words]	Dennis	Jun 15, 2008 20:54
re abbning Bahrains Bangladeshis from entry [62 words]	Gabrielle Crofts	Jun 13, 2008 01:06
↔ Re: Banning Bangalies [33 words]	Amira	Jun 15, 2008 16:41
↔ Banning Muhammedans from our decent very civilised countries, especially UK and France and USA and Australia [210 words]	Gabrielle	Jun 25, 2008 07:46
↔ I do, Amira [336 words]	Don	Jul 2, 2008 01:18
↔ Hey Don, watch out for normal Muslim hypocrisy [171 words]	Jaladhi	Jul 13, 2008 08:17
↔ Don [110 words]	Ariana	Jul 22, 2008 13:12
↔ World of difference [100 words]	Don	Jul 27, 2008 19:51
What do expect [21 words]	Tony	Jun 11, 2008 20:02

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