http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/Office/Story/A1Story20090415-135450.html
Thu, Apr 16, 2009
The New Paper
'I'm so stupid to have listened to agent'
By Benson Ang
THERE was no contract, no signature, no receipt.
Related link:
» Back home to be a farmer to pay off debts
Just a verbal promise, a handshake, and a smile.
But it was enough for Mr Nahid Rana Shoriful Islam, 24, to hand over $8,000 to an agent in Bangladesh who promised him work in Singapore.
Now, in hindsight, Mr Nahid admitted: 'I was so stupid. Even when my parents call me stupid, I can't argue with that.'
Mr Nahid told The New Paper that the agent had met him a year ago and promised him that he could work in Singapore for two years, earn up to $2,000 a month and return to Bangladesh a rich man.
He even told him he could work overtime, until midnight every day, if he wanted to.
All it took was $8,000 in cash, which would pay for the application for his passport, air ticket, work permit, training and other expenses.
Blur about Singapore
Mr Nahid had not even heard of Singapore, but it was the only country the agent could send him to.
So Mr Nahid agreed.
'I believed him because his English was very good, and he spoke very convincingly. I also wanted to able to send lots of money to my family.'
So he sold his land in Bangladesh, borrowed money, and used his savings to pay the agent.
Mr Nahid arrived here on 25 Apr last year, but quickly found that the 'work' was far less than what he was promised.
He was supposed to work as a welder in a shipbuilding company but found out that the only task available was sweeping the floors.
This he did for about a month, after which there was no more work available. He earned so little for this, he does not even remember how much.
For the rest of his time here, Mr Nahid was not able to earn any money, although his work permit was valid until 2010.
Moreover, he could not find work elsewhere because the regulations here prohibit foreign workers from the marine sector from changing employers.
And when the financial crisis hit late last year, Mr Nahid lost all hope of getting any form of work here.
For more than half a year, he has been living at a shelter, provided by The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home).
Mr Nahid has not been able to send any money home to his retired father, 63, his housewife mother, 50, and his three brothers and three sisters in Bangladesh.
If he could turn back time, he would have just worked as a farmer in the Narayanganj District of Bangladesh.
He said: 'I was greedy... I could have earned money slowly, but I wanted it fast.'
He returned to Bangladesh two weeks ago, with 13 other Bangladeshi workers.
Mr Nahid said they were sent home because the company had not paid their workers' levy, causing their work permits to be revoked in February.
He was ambivalent about going home - happy to see his family again, but unhappy because he has to slowly repay his debts.
Hit by financial crisis
When he left, Home gave him $300 from its Peace and Justice Fund, set up last December.
Mr Nahid and Home's account about his agent and employer here could not be verified.
According to the Bangladesh High Commission, there has been an increasing number of Bangladeshi workers sent home since the financial crisis hit.
Home's executive director Jolovan Wham, 29, who has been working with foreign workers for five years, said most Bangladeshi workers come to Singapore through unlicensed agents because they are unaware of legal recruitment channels.
He said enforcement against unlicensed labour recruiters is also weak, so many workers end up paying huge sums to work here.
According to Mr Wham, licensed agents usually charge no more than $2,000 to bring one worker to work in Singapore, while unlicensed agents charge $8,000 or more.
He believes that employers and agents take a share of this money, which is said to be for the air ticket, training, insurance premiums, work permit applications and so on, although neither he nor the workers have any proof of this.
He said: 'It sometimes depends on the worker's luck to get a reliable agent and a good employer.'
He added that while the workers may seem stupid or naive to hand over money without a signed agreement, they are just following the established practices in their country to work abroad.
'It is not a customary practice in their culture to have documents for such transactions.
'And if you come from a village in Bangladesh, you might see paying $8,000 to work in a big city as an investment that will pay off in the future.'
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Thu, Apr 16, 2009
The New Paper
'I'm so stupid to have listened to agent'
By Benson Ang
THERE was no contract, no signature, no receipt.
Related link:
» Back home to be a farmer to pay off debts
Just a verbal promise, a handshake, and a smile.
But it was enough for Mr Nahid Rana Shoriful Islam, 24, to hand over $8,000 to an agent in Bangladesh who promised him work in Singapore.
Now, in hindsight, Mr Nahid admitted: 'I was so stupid. Even when my parents call me stupid, I can't argue with that.'
Mr Nahid told The New Paper that the agent had met him a year ago and promised him that he could work in Singapore for two years, earn up to $2,000 a month and return to Bangladesh a rich man.
He even told him he could work overtime, until midnight every day, if he wanted to.
All it took was $8,000 in cash, which would pay for the application for his passport, air ticket, work permit, training and other expenses.
Blur about Singapore
Mr Nahid had not even heard of Singapore, but it was the only country the agent could send him to.
So Mr Nahid agreed.
'I believed him because his English was very good, and he spoke very convincingly. I also wanted to able to send lots of money to my family.'
So he sold his land in Bangladesh, borrowed money, and used his savings to pay the agent.
Mr Nahid arrived here on 25 Apr last year, but quickly found that the 'work' was far less than what he was promised.
He was supposed to work as a welder in a shipbuilding company but found out that the only task available was sweeping the floors.
This he did for about a month, after which there was no more work available. He earned so little for this, he does not even remember how much.
For the rest of his time here, Mr Nahid was not able to earn any money, although his work permit was valid until 2010.
Moreover, he could not find work elsewhere because the regulations here prohibit foreign workers from the marine sector from changing employers.
And when the financial crisis hit late last year, Mr Nahid lost all hope of getting any form of work here.
For more than half a year, he has been living at a shelter, provided by The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home).
Mr Nahid has not been able to send any money home to his retired father, 63, his housewife mother, 50, and his three brothers and three sisters in Bangladesh.
If he could turn back time, he would have just worked as a farmer in the Narayanganj District of Bangladesh.
He said: 'I was greedy... I could have earned money slowly, but I wanted it fast.'
He returned to Bangladesh two weeks ago, with 13 other Bangladeshi workers.
Mr Nahid said they were sent home because the company had not paid their workers' levy, causing their work permits to be revoked in February.
He was ambivalent about going home - happy to see his family again, but unhappy because he has to slowly repay his debts.
Hit by financial crisis
When he left, Home gave him $300 from its Peace and Justice Fund, set up last December.
Mr Nahid and Home's account about his agent and employer here could not be verified.
According to the Bangladesh High Commission, there has been an increasing number of Bangladeshi workers sent home since the financial crisis hit.
Home's executive director Jolovan Wham, 29, who has been working with foreign workers for five years, said most Bangladeshi workers come to Singapore through unlicensed agents because they are unaware of legal recruitment channels.
He said enforcement against unlicensed labour recruiters is also weak, so many workers end up paying huge sums to work here.
According to Mr Wham, licensed agents usually charge no more than $2,000 to bring one worker to work in Singapore, while unlicensed agents charge $8,000 or more.
He believes that employers and agents take a share of this money, which is said to be for the air ticket, training, insurance premiums, work permit applications and so on, although neither he nor the workers have any proof of this.
He said: 'It sometimes depends on the worker's luck to get a reliable agent and a good employer.'
He added that while the workers may seem stupid or naive to hand over money without a signed agreement, they are just following the established practices in their country to work abroad.
'It is not a customary practice in their culture to have documents for such transactions.
'And if you come from a village in Bangladesh, you might see paying $8,000 to work in a big city as an investment that will pay off in the future.'
This article was first published in The New Paper.
