No segregationExpat labourers won’t be removed from areas where families live
THE Manama Municipal Council has rejected the idea of segregating expatriate labourers from areas where families live.A number of local families had asked the council to remove bachelors from areas where families reside. The families had claimed that the activities of these bachelors were against religious values and unacceptable to society, said the Chairman of the Manama Municipal Council, Murtada Bader.“The issue was discussed by the Chairman of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, and members of the Manama Council, and it was agreed that removing the expatriate bachelors was not acceptable,” he said.“We have a lot of social problems, but all the troubles don’t stem from Bangladeshis and Indians in these area. On the contrary, locals are involved in 90 per cent of cases of drugs, sexual abuse, cheating and theft,” Bader said.“I don’t support the idea of segregating foreigners from local people. It is insulting for people of one or two nationalities to be kept in one camp.” Bader said that the Capital area was not so big and there were no vacant places where the bachelors could be moved.“We can suggest that the companies sponsoring the labourers hire a building and accommodate them there. It is a common practice in UK, where all bachelors live in one building and families don’t go there. It is not right for anyone to say that we must find them separate places to live in. It is our duty to support and help such people, instead of fighting with them. There are a lot of labourers who respect our religion, values and traditions.“Social circumstances had pushed the Manama Council to take action, but the government does not support such ideas. There was a similar incident in Kuwait and the bachelors were moved to another area. The council is not sure how effective this practice would be in Bahrain.”He said that most of the labourers stayed in large numbers in hired houses in Mukhargah, Naim and Central Manama. “Since Bahrain requires the services of these labourers the only solution is that companies should find a building and accommodate all of them. At the same time the sponsor company must ensure that these labourers should have social security,” added Bader.