The eyes of Migrant Workers

After encountering an eye opening journey through parts of Bangladesh and India, there is something which will stick with me for a long time. 

The eyes of Migrant Workers from Bangladesh. 

Yes, the eyes.

I recently went to Bangladesh and after I came back I was asked, Why Bangladesh? What on earth is there to see in Bangladesh? Well for starters, there is earth in Bangladesh. Natural earth. Ever heard of Cox Bazaar? The worlds longest natural beach with Bangladeshis being its tourist. People swimming fully clothed without the risk of children laying their eyes upon xrated body parts.

Secondly, Rangamati, where there is a hanging bridge and you can get boat rides to small Islands where tribal people reside. They speak Bangla but look more oriental - They're known as Chakma people.

There is a lot to see in Bangladesh and the beautiful thing about it is, a lot of it is untouched. It's not very touristic which allows nature to do its job. 

Now about the Migrant workers. 

When I got to Dubai where we had to do a transfer I realised that our gate was full of young Bangladeshi men. 'Migrant workers' I thought and I wasn't wrong. I always knew that Bangladeshi people go to Dubai to find work and I have come across a lot of disturbing articles and videos in recent years about how these Bangladeshis are treated by the Arabs in Dubai. Some are beaten, some have their passports taken away, some get given horrendous jobs. A lot of handsome faces have turned rugged from the hard labour work they do. 

I found it pretty surprising when I discovered Dubai isn't the only place these workers go to. They travel all over the Middle East in hope to make an earning to survive on or to help a loved one get an education or wear something new. 

When getting on that plane it was heart warming to see all these people on their brick phones with happy smiling faces telling their family that they have boarded the plane and will see them soon.

Even when the announcement 'to turn all eletronics off' was said, these people were still making calls. It was pretty funny. 

I was thinking, they probably spent months and months doing hard work and the UAE Dirhams that they earnt would have been spent on this plane ticket to see their family. But it's worth it I guess. I mean, money cannot buy the giggles and smiles these people had on their faces. 

Some have even grasped the idea of Selfies and were taking selfies with the plane seats. To be honest, I do that too. 

Some of the Migrant workers. A few of them did not know how
to use the screens in front of them. 

When the visa forms were given out before landing in Dhaka, many of them looked at the small sheet in confusion. They turned it around a few times looking tensed. Lack of Literacy skills. Most of them couldn't even read. It wasn't long before my dad had 5 forms to fill for 5 different people. Sad isn't it? The simple things in life aren't accessible to everyone. Education, the ability to read and write in one of the worlds most common language. 

Though most of them laughed and sm
iled, you could see through their eyes the hardship they have been through. Going back and forth to a foreign place, being mistreated, living in bad cramped conditions, missing their families and friends. You can see from the structure of their faces how handsome and beautiful they are but the hard work of working under the sun every day had taken its toll on their beautiful skin. They looked older than they actually were. 

I have a cousin. When I last saw him in 2002, he was very handsome. Very light skinned, sharp featured, high cheek bones, structured jaws. I saw a recent picture of him and he was unrecognisable. He has gone dark, marks all over his face and he looks older than he is. He works in Dubai and every morning he is made to climb the side of tall building fixing electrical stuff (which I have no idead about) as the sun reaches its peak.

After a hectic 10 days of moving around Bangladesh and India, meeting and speaking to different people, coming across some of the most loving people who live in some of the most hardest conditions, it was finally time to come back home to London. 

At Dhaka airport as we were going through customs, a young man was pushed to the back of the line by one of the security - Physically pushed on the chest. It made my blood boil. These people need to care for their own. Show some respect. They already get mistreated in the Middle East and the last thing they need is harsh treatment in their home land. 

We went through and saw a big group of ladies in uniform. Yellow clothes and caps. We asked them where they were going. Not anywhere luxurious. They were off to Amman to work in a sewing factory. Beautiful stunning ladies who have to leave their families behind to try and provide the basics by working abroad. 

There is a huge number of Migrant workers in the Middle East from South Asia. How else would the Arab world work? Bangladeshis are very skilled in construction work but its a shame to see that their skills are not used to improve Bangladesh but to build amazing stadiums in Qatar or five star hotel in the Saudi Arabia. 

This is surprising - Something I found out when I was in Cox Bazaar. 

The men in Bangladesh are pretty small. It's pretty cute actually. Especially when you see the armour men wore during the wars. They look like they could be for children.

Anyway, a lot of young boys used to get kidnapped from Bangladesh and were trained to become Jockey's. Their small frame was an advantage for rich horse racers in the Middle East. 

My grandfather was a Jockey but luckily not for the Arabs. 

I have always felt proud of being Bangladeshi especially knowing that my people fought for our land, but after going to Bangladesh I felt a sense of belonging. This is my home, my mother land, the land where my language stems from. This is the place where hard workers come from, the place surrounded by water, the place where Bangladeshis share the same language in different dialects and look completely different according to the region they come from. This is the place where I went to and I will never forget one thing. 

The eyes of Migrant workers.

I hope you got a slight insight in to how hard people in Bangladesh work and the extent they go to so they can make money. Not just Bangladeshis but Pakistanis, Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, go through the same effort to try and make a living. 

I wish I had the power to change lives around so people could live their lives in a bit more ease. 

By Salma Razia Khatun

(Instagram: @SalaamSalma & @SalmaKhatun95)