http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=25144
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Published On: 2008-02-27 Front Page
Yunus trashes reports of crimes by Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia
Star Report
Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, now on a visit to Saudi Arabia,
has brushed aside allegations in Saudi media that a large number of
Bangladeshis are breaking the law in the kingdom.
Any people can turn to crimes anywhere and so it is not fair to single
out a certain nationality, he said during a reception hosted by
Consulate General of Bangladesh at Al-Salam Holiday Inn in Jeddah
Sunday evening, daily Saudi Gazette reported yesterday.
Dr Yunus' comments came following Saudi media reports that Bangladeshi
workers are engaged in various criminal activities in the country for
which Riyadh is reducing the quota for Bangladeshi workers there.
The Nobel laureate, who is visiting the Gulf country as a speaker at
Ninth Jeddah Economic Forum now being held in Jeddah and plans to
introduce Grameen Bank's signature microcredit concept in the country,
urged the Bangladeshi expatriates to abide by Saudi rules and
regulations.
"Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh have strong economic and cultural ties
and Saudi Arabia has been a great friend of us in all circumstances,"
he said, noting that Bangladesh is a source of hard-working manpower
for the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Dr Yunus' presence in the kingdom and his great speeches at
Jeddah International Conference and Exhibition Centre received a big
round of applause, making Bangladeshi expatriates proud.
Maintenance workers Mukhles Mian, Muhammad Munir and Jashimuddin said
they were overwhelmed by the greatness of their countryman.
"Look, how all the Saudi men and women were clapping and listening to
him with rapt attention. He is a great man. We are seeing him for the
first time in flesh and blood," daily Arab News yesterday quoted one
of them as saying.
The three men said Dr Yunus' presence in Saudi Arabia comes at the
most critical time in the lives of the 17 lakh Bangladeshi expatriates
in the kingdom.
"There are all these reports appearing in the local press about our
iqamas (work permits) not being renewed and about recruitment of
Bangladeshis being stopped and of our compatriots being in the news
for all the wrong reasons," he said.
"There are websites that are running a campaign against us. Professor
Yunus' presence here will go a long way in improving the image of
Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia. All the top Saudi business leaders are
here and after listening to Professor Yunus they will definitely have
a soft corner for all of us. When they think of Bangladeshis, the
Saudis will now definitely think of Professor Yunus."
For the three workmen, the presence of Dr Yunus was enough. "We don't
know what he spoke about," said one of them. "We don't know English.
We only saw the entire hall clapping intermittently and we saw that
everybody stood at the end for quite a long time. Did you see anybody
doing that when other speakers ended their speeches?"
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