Expatriate workers and human rights groups welcomed the Labor Minister's announcement on the possibility of abolishing the sponsorship system. Although this issue has been a regular topic in talks among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for some time no actual steps have so far been taken to remove the system. Earlier this year the International Labor Organization (ILO) urged the GCC states to scrap the system for being oppressive and for leaving hundreds of thousands of migrant workers under bondage to their sponsors and employers. The ILO set June 2008 as the deadline for GCC countries to eliminate the sponsorship system.
Employers turned over more than 900 passports belonging to runaway expatriate workers to their respective embassies as of 12 September following an appeal by the Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA). The passports were handed over to eight embassies that opened counters at the LMRA in Sanabis. These include the embassies of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria. One company, the Al Khaja Establishment turned over some 203 passports, 176 of them belonging to Indian workers. Meanwhile, Philippine officials are hoping that more sponsors would return the passports of their runaway Filipino workers so as not to jeopardize the latter's chances of availing of the amnesty. As of 6 September, the embassy has received only one passport at the Philippine desk at the LMRA.
The Immigration Department announced that it would stop accepting applications for amnesty by 1 December, 30 days ahead of the deadline. The move is to allow all the necessary paperwork to be completed before applications are processed, according to investigation director Lt. Col. Ghazi Sinan of the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence (GDNPR). Hence, Sinan urged all amnesty seekers not to delay their applications.
The LMRA has decided to start an inspection campaign in a bid to force irregular migrant workers to avail of the amnesty – either to leave the country or regularize their stay in the country. Originally the inspection drive was supposed to be carried out after the amnesty expires on 31 December but due to the low turnout of amnesty seekers, the LMRA decided to bring it forward. The inspection would be conducted jointly with the Ministries of Interior, Labor, Industry and Commerce and Health.
Amnesty seekers who were prevented from leaving the country due to last-minute complaints filed against them by their sponsors were alarmed by an announcement saying their cases would be heard by civil courts. They said they prefer to have their cases settled at the labor court or a special amnesty body rather than at civil courts. Last month, about a dozen amnesty seekers, mostly Filipina domestic workers, were stopped from leaving Bahrain after their sponsors filed cases against them for either absconding or for theft. The amnesty seekers claimed the charges were mere fabrications designed to allow their sponsors to recover the expenses incurred in bringing them to Bahrain.
The Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) is organizing a festival from 17-25 October at the Bahrain International Exhibition Center to raise awareness about the ongoing amnesty program for undocumented expatriate workers and residents. According to its chief executive Ali Radhi, the event would also provide an opportunity to enroll thousands of expatriates into the LMRA system. Some 20 counters would be opened to collect expatriate data and fingerprints that would be forwarded to the Central Informatics Organization for the processing of their smart cards.
The LMRA has issued a new handbook, "The Foreign Employees Guide," in English and Arabic to promote awareness among foreign workers about their rights and obligations in Bahrain. The new booklet will be distributed to the foreign community through various embassies, international clubs and organizations. In the guide, expatriate workers are advised to check their employment status by visiting the LMRA website and entering their work visa ID.
Three Asians were arrested by the police for operating a remittance business without the necessary permit. A staff from a money exchange center alerted the police after becoming suspicious of the three for remitting thousands of dinars per transaction monthly. When arrested, the three owned up to their remittance business before the Public Prosecutor but denied knowing that it was illegal.
The Lower Criminal Court is hearing the case of two Iranian brothers, both in their 30s, who are charged with unauthorized entry into Bahrain. The first defendant allegedly entered Bahrain in 2000 on a forged Pakistani passport to join his father who owns a local bakery. His brother arrived in Bahrain five years later by sea. A motorboat reportedly dropped him off near one of the Muharraq bridges, after which he climbed up to the road and took a taxi to Sifra where his father and brother live. The case against them was adjourned until 18 September for further study. Meanwhile, both men were remanded in custody.
The Lower Criminal Court sent a 25-year old Bahraini man and two foreign domestic workers to jail for two months each over an alleged "illicit love tryst." Both the 29-year old Filipina and the 23-year old Indonesian would be deported upon completing their jail term. Both workers denied helping the Bahraini's to enter their sponsor's house.
The Indian Embassy vowed to look into allegations that security staff from the MBM Alam Flora, a firm responsible for refuse collection and cleaning in the Northern, Southern and Central municipalities, had detained 10 migrant workers from India in their quarters in Khamis. The ten cleaners were reportedly detained after a dispute over wages and after telling MBM's management that they wanted to go to their embassy. The workers claimed that they should be paid a total of BD71 a month instead of the basic BD45 they are getting after being made to render four hours of overtime daily. Four of ten Indian cleaners were reportedly deported on 5 September and the rest are expected to follow. MBM manager Abdul Kasem denied the workers' allegations.
Related to this, Labor Minister Dr. Majeed Al Alawi is scheduled to speak before the Indian community in Bahrain at 8:30 pm on 8 September at the Indian Club. He is expected to clarify some issues regarding the ongoing general amnesty.
Indian national carriers, Air India Express and Indian Airlines, announced a special discount fare for amnesty seekers during the Open House organized by the Indian Embassy in Adliya on 31 August. The discounted one-way airfares would be available only for Indian amnesty seekers and the offer would end on 31 December. In this connection, Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty called on all amnesty seekers to file their applications immediately so they can leave the country before the festival seasons of November and December, when all flights to India are expected to be full. Shetty warned that the discounted airfares currently being offered by several airlines might not apply during the peak season.
Twenty-nine year old Indian construction worker, Suram Sathyam is in critical condition at the Salmaniya Medical Complex after falling into a six-meter pit at his worksite on 10 September. According to the Labor Ministry, the construction company would face trial for negligence in failing to supervise the construction activities, not providing safety equipment and for not putting the necessary safeguards in place at the worksite. The company would also be prosecuted for employing an irregular migrant worker.
According to the First Secretary, Lok Thapa, First Secretary of the Nepalese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, a total of 127 Nepalese irregular migrant workers, including 10 women, have applied for general amnesty in Bahrain. About 16 of them are allegedly seeking sponsorship transfer. Thapa clarified that, contrary to earlier estimates of 2,000 Nepalese irregular migrant workers in Bahrain, the actual figure was closer to 500. Officials from the Nepalese Embassy in Saudi Arabia planned to visit Bahrain for five days starting 8 September to receive applications from Nepalese amnesty seekers. However, Thapa decided to stay on until 14 September to help process the documents of a large number of amnesty seekers who are expected to approach them until this date. He asked those who were unable to meet with embassy officials to approach instead the Nepali Club or the Non-resident Nepalese Association for assistance.
Bangladesh Embassy officials are trying to trace the original sponsor of Mohammed Swapan Akin, 30, a Bangladeshi mason who was seriously hurt in a fall at a construction site, but the worker is hesitant to disclose any information. Akin is recuperating at the Salmaniya Medical Complex from a minor head injury and a broken right leg as a result of falling from the second floor of a building under construction in Jidhafs on 5 August. Officials want to help Akin avail of the general amnesty but he appears afraid or confused to give them any information about his situation. He is a free visa worker who worked for private companies on a casual basis before his accident.
According to Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS) action committee head Marieta Dias, the absence of a Sri Lankan mission in Bahrain could affect the turnout of Sri Lankan asylum seekers. The Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait is responsible for taking care of its nationals in Bahrain and Honorary Consul-General P.B. Higgoda performs some visa and consular services at the Sri Lanka Club. However, Dias pointed out that setting up a permanent mission in Bahrain was the only way to cope with the number of cases of Sri Lankans in distress.
The Philippine Embassy is investigating allegations about the daily physical abuse inflicted by a Bahraini sponsor on Filipina domestic worker, Marlina Gratuito, that ended up with her being stripped, punched, kicked and scalded with boiling water. According to embassy officials, Gratuito had been admitted to the Salmaniya Medical Complex presumably from the torture she received from her sponsor. However before they could visit her, she was hastily discharged from the hospital and sent to the Hidd detention center to await deportation.
The presence in Bahrain of a number of school-aged Filipinos without proper residency permits is a concern of the Philippine Embassy. Parents of eight such minors surfaced at the embassy recently to seek amnesty for their children. The common problem faced by these parents was their inability to meet the tough rules for acquiring visas for dependents. Officials from several embassies and human rights organizations in the past have appealed to the Labor Ministry for more lenient rules on the sponsorship of dependents.
Thai Embassy officials are looking into allegations that a Bahraini sponsor tried to extort BD500 from a Thai national for the return of her passport after she expressed a desire to go home under the ongoing amnesty program. The woman, who is currently staying at the emergency accommodation at the Thai Embassy, arrived in Bahrain on a visit visa; her sponsor kept promising to give her a proper visa. He eventually regularized her status earlier this year, but he put her on a domestic worker visa even if she was a beauty technician.
During his three-day visit to Bahrain, US Special Representative for Social Issues Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees met with Bahraini officials from the Foreign Ministry and the LMRA, legislators and NGO representatives. Rees was in country as part of US efforts to promote its multilateral agenda, which includes addressing key issues such human trafficking, sexual violence and the exploitation of women and children and enhancing maternal and child health. According to Rees, he lobbied with Bahraini officials to support the US position on vital issues that would be up for debate at the UN general assembly meeting on 25 September.
The Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society launched a major aid drive on 8 September to help thousands of displaced Iraqis living in refugee camps in Jordan. The launching of the relief campaign was timed not only to coincide with the onset of Ramadan but also to allow the refugees enough time to prepare for the cold winter months in Jordan. The society is set to visit Jordan a week later to determine the needs of the Iraqis living in two refugee camps there.
During his three-day visit to Bahrain, US Special Representative for Social Issues Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees met with Bahraini officials from the Foreign Ministry and the LMRA, legislators and NGO representatives. Rees was in country as part of US efforts to promote its multilateral agenda, which includes addressing key issues such human trafficking, sexual violence and the exploitation of women and children and enhancing maternal and child health. According to Rees, he lobbied with Bahraini officials to support the US position on vital issues that would be up for debate at the UN general assembly meeting on 25 September.
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