Some 800,000 Bangladeshi workers, jobless and quarantined in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) north-western part, have been facing food crisis for the last two weeks, said insiders.
At least 80 per cent of around 1.0 million Bangladeshi workers, mostly living in Jeddah, Makkah, Medina, Khamis, Taif and Tabuk regions, are suffering from lack of food or cash, according to their estimate.
A good number of workers told The Financial Express (FE) that they did not get any relief, either from Saudi authorities or from Bangladesh mission officials.
A section of Bangladeshi philanthropists offered some assistance to only a few hundred of workers, they added.
"I've been struggling to survive, as I cannot always manage food for the last 15 days," Abdul Bashet, one of the workers in Jeddah, told the FE on Saturday.
He is a taxi driver, and the Saudi authorities imposed curfew or restriction on movement to prevent Covid-19 outbreak. So, he and many like him have no earning source now.
Asked why he is so empty handed at present, Abdul Bashet said he remitted the major portion of his savings to the country to provide family expenses days before the lockdown.
"We all generally do so, since our families depend on remittance," he said, adding that he could not anticipate the lockdown would last for more than two weeks.
Bashet mentioned that he could not take any preparations for Ramadan, and so, has to depend on his landlord for his sustenance.
"He provides one meal a day. I just wait for his call when he will offer me food," he concluded.
Many of the workers there are having only one meal a day, and they have no idea when their plight would come to an end.
Md Azad, a worker residing in Khamis, said 300,000-400,000 Bangladeshis are staying in his neighbourhood areas, where most of the workers are struggling to procure sufficient food for survival.
The workers usually earn daily wage by working in the construction companies there, but the lockdown has halted all their activities.
Some have applied to Bangladesh mission in Jeddah for assistance, but to no avail till date. The mission officials are not even receiving their phone calls, workers alleged.
The Consulate General of Bangladesh in Jeddah has received a fund of Tk 4.0 million from the Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB) to meet emergencies that the workers are facing there.
But the officials concerned termed the amount 'too small' to meet the demand of a large number of workers there.
When contacted, Consul General Faisal Ahmed said they can provide emergency support to only 3,000 workers with the fund. Already they have supported 1,500 workers, and a list of another 1,500 workers is being prepared.
They are seeking more fund from the board for helping 30,000 workers, considering their needs.
The official admitted that they could not reach to the workers living far away from Jeddah, as the Saudi authorities are not allowing them to travel there.
"We have applied to the Saudi authorities for issuing curfew pass. If we get it, we can reach to the workers."
The embassy is in touch with the workers, who are asked to apply online for getting emergency support. The officials cannot attend all phone calls from a large number of workers, he noted.
Meanwhile, migrant rights activists have suggested that the embassy should take help from community leaders to address food crisis of the workers in different parts of Saudi Arabia.
If the officials coordinate, a good number of well-off Bangladeshi expatriates can support the workers in their respective areas during this emergency.
Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), a grassroots-level migrants' organisation, is now receiving calls from the workers every day. About 60 per cent of those calls are coming from Saudi Arabia, destination of the highest number of Bangladeshi workers.
OKUP chairman Shakirul Islam observed that the embassy officials can work in coordination with the Saudi authorities and the Bangladeshi community leaders who run charities there.
"Otherwise, it will be hard to protect the large number of workers," he opined.About 2.0 million Bangladeshis are living in the KSA with jobs, according to officials.
