Dozens of Bangladeshi migrant workers stranded in Saudi Arabia are living in severe hardship in Riyadh after losing their jobs, falling into irregular immigration status and being abandoned by labor brokers, according to accounts from the workers and community members.
Many of the affected workers are staying in the Batha area of the Saudi capital, where they say they have no stable employment, housing or income. Some have expired Iqamas, the residence permits required for foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, while others say they were brought to the country by brokers who failed to provide promised jobs.
With few resources available, workers report sleeping in open areas near mosques and on market verandas. According to those seeking assistance, about 40 to 50 people are currently sheltering together under such conditions.
“Brokers brought us but didn’t give us proper work. Now we have no work, nowhere to eat, and nowhere to stay,” one worker said to Channel 24.
Another worker said he had not received wages after working for two months.
“I worked for two months and they didn’t pay me. I am in great distress right now, wandering around, sleeping in mosques and in front of markets,” he said.
The stranded migrants are appealing to the Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment for assistance in returning home.
“I am appealing to the Bangladesh Embassy to make arrangements to send us back to our country. We are 40-50 people here, sleeping in mosques and on verandas,” another worker said.
As the situation continues, local businessmen and the Saudi Arabia Expatriate Journalists Forum have provided humanitarian assistance, including meals for workers lacking food and shelter.
One community member involved in relief efforts said the number of distressed workers arriving in the area remains significant.
“Many helpless people come here every day whom brokers brought and abandoned with a three-month Iqama; they can’t afford to eat or stay anywhere, they sleep in mosques. I am feeding numerous such people daily,” he said.