Job-seekers throng expat welfare office for registration
-Sajjadur Rahman and Belal Hossain Biplob

Thirty-two-year-old Zakir Hossain travelled more than 170 kilometres from Netrakona to the capital early yesterday only to have his name registered with the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) for a job placement in Saudi Arabia.

Not even fears of arson attacks by alleged blockaders could deter him from taking bus rides after his elder brother told him about the low cost of migration to the Kingdom — only Tk 20,000 — agreed between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia a couple of days ago.

“Soon after getting a phone call from my brother, I made up my mind that I would reach Dhaka anyhow,” said Zakir, who runs a small shop at his village.

Like him, 25-year-old Mizanur Rahman, a garment worker in the capital, also had his name registered with the BMET with a hope to get a job in the oil-rich Middle Eastern country.

Saiful Islam, a graduate student at Titumir College in Dhaka, also rushed to Probasi Kalyan Bhaban to have his name registered for overseas job placement. The youth thinks he wouldn’t get a decent job in Bangladesh.

Source: The Daily Star