Just A Thought

Touchdown

Yamin Tauseef Jahangir

Photo: Yamin Tauseef Jahangir

On my way to Bangladesh from Kuala Lampur, I had to wait at Terminal 14 of Kuala Lampur International Airport (KLIA) airport for a while. As I was sipping coffee and browsing on my laptop, I saw a few Bangladeshi passengers running towards the terminal gate, which was closed. To my surprise, they began to bang on the glass door, yelling for the door to open as they thought that they would miss their flight. Some of the passengers who were also waiting managed to calm them and later I realised that it was the announcement for boarding pass check that scared them. When I scanned the place I found several foreigners exchanging baffled looks. The misguided passengers were Bangladeshi workers working in Malaysia.

It is true that many do not have a good impression about us when we identify ourselves as Bangladeshis. That could be because of the way we behave whenever we are out of the country. Old habits die hard, and we intend to portray these habits in front of the public whenever we get the chance. Usually the transit flights to Bangladesh carry a lot of Bangladeshi workers and the journey in one way or the other is not a pleasant one to many. Having the tag of a 'developing country' does not excuse us from the nuisance that we create elsewhere and so we need to realise this.

The manpower recruiting agencies take the responsibility of sending workers abroad which is a way of earning much needed remittance for the country. However, in this process the biggest loophole is the training and the basic education which is very much necessary for these outgoing workers. The agencies may claim that they are not liable to provide such facilities to people, but these agencies are the only link between the workers and the foreign country. Some of them are doing the needful so that the lower income brackets can survive the harsh realities of the outside world. But what happens to the majority? Some say that it is pointless in forcing them on a guideline, but that may not be true. It all depends on strict rules and regulations set by the host countries, which need to be abided by the outgoing workers. These agencies can provide these instructions and make our people aware of the rights and the wrongs. It also depends on the government to look into such issues, so that our workers abroad can be looked upon with dignity by others.

As I started to walk towards Bay 062 of the airport, I started observing few Bangladeshis who broke off from the queue and started to run for the plane crossing the plane fuselage to reach before others. That very instant the Malaysian security stopped them and forced them to join the queue. It was quite distressing to see that they were quite indifferent to the whole incident.

On my arrival to Dhaka, it was a misty evening and I was having the winter chills. When I walked out from the arrival terminal I found a place that was under maintenance. It was not covered and no signs were given for the arriving passengers to caution them. Many passengers found this to be a big hindrance. It is simply taken for granted that an international airport should keep its maintenance regularities under close monitoring while ensuring passenger safety and comfort. It only takes a postcard full of memories for a person to remember the experiences and the good ones will always ensure another touchdown to this country.