Bangladesh arrest total approaches 1,200: AFP tally


By AFP
July 23, 2024

Bangladesh army personnel are manning checkpoints in the capital Dhaka, which is under curfew after days of violence - Copyright AFP Munir UZ ZAMAN

The number of arrests in days of violence in Bangladesh approached the 1,200 mark in an AFP tally on Tuesday, after protests over employment quotas sparked widespread unrest.

At least 173 people have died, including several police officers, according to a separate AFP count of victims reported by police and hospitals.

What began as demonstrations against politicised admission quotas for sought-after government jobs snowballed last week into some of the worst unrest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure.

The student group leading the demonstrations suspended its protests Monday for 48 hours, with its leader saying they had not wanted reform “at the expense of so much blood”.

A curfew has been imposed and soldiers deployed across the South Asian country, while a nationwide internet blackout since Thursday has drastically restricted the flow of information.

On Sunday, the Supreme Court pared back the number of reserved jobs for specific groups, including the descendants of “freedom fighters” from Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

The restrictions remained in place Tuesday after the army chief said the law and order situation had been brought “under control”.

At least 200 people had been arrested in the central districts of Narayanganj and Narsingdi, their police chiefs told AFP, while at least 80 had been held in Bogra.

At least 168 had been arrested in the industrial city of Gazipur, 75 in the northern city of Rangpur, and 60 in Barisal in the south, senior police officials said.

In the rural and industrial part of Dhaka 80 people were arrested, on top of an earlier figure of at least 532 for the capital itself, giving a total of 1,195.

There was a heavy military presence in Dhaka on Tuesday, with bunkers set up at some intersections and key roads blocked with barbed wire.

But more people were on the streets, as were hundreds of rickshaws.

“I did not drive rickshaws the first few days of curfew, But today I didn’t have any choice,” rickshaw driver Hanif told AFP. “If I don’t do it, my family will go hungry.”

Internet blackout paints dark picture for Bangladesh call centres


By AFP
July 23, 2024

Bangladesh's outsourcing firms face closures and redundancies after the government imposed an internet blackout to quell protests - Copyright AFP Tony KARUMBA
Eyamin SAJID

Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis work in outsourcing firms and the industry generates billions every year, but executives fear the internet shutdown imposed by authorities seeking to quell anti-government protests threatens its entire existence.

Packed into tiny desks in cramped office spaces, ranks of workers provide international clients with support services in the form of live voice and text chat, back office support, email support, invoicing, online store management, image processing and more.

The industry, known as business process outsourcing (BPO), generates estimated annual revenues of two billion dollars in Bangladesh.

But it now faces the threat of closures and redundancies, after authorities imposed an internet shutdown Thursday to quell protests against employment quotas that have spiralled into deadly unrest.

“When a five-minute delay is not acceptable in this line of work, a total blackout is nothing short of a disaster,” said Fahim Mashroor, tech entrepreneur and former president of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services.

He is CEO of Bdjobs.com, which provides services to clients from 13 countries, including German sportswear maker Puma and Swedish fashion brand Ellos.

“All of our communication is done through email and when internet was disconnected suddenly, we couldn’t let the client know about our situation.”

The government announced broadband internet would be restored Tuesday evening, but executives believe it is already too late.

BPO groups say the industry has been losing $7 million a day since the internet shutdown began, and Bangladeshi companies believe regional rivals in India, the Philippines and Vietnam will be hoovering up their clients.

“It took us 10 years to build a clientele of 150 and I fear I lost all of them in a few days,” said Monir Hosen, managing director of call centre firm Creative Clipping Path, which employs around 300 people.

“Bangladesh’s reputation will be permanently damaged for the clients,” he said.

BPO firm ASL employs 200 staff and provides 24/7 back-office support to two major clients in the EU.

But founder and CEO Zayed Uddin Ahmed fears he may soon have to close down and dismiss his workers.

Many international clients demand uninterrupted service for real-time communication, feedback and payment processing, he said.

“They are reliant on us 24 hours a day and if we don’t provide what they need, they will divert the orders to our neighbouring and competitor countries,” he said.

“The extent of losses is immeasurable for us.”



– ‘My family will be destitute’ –



One trainer at his company, Jannati Tazrimin, said she and others feared for their jobs.

“Since we work on a project basis, everyone in my project would lose their job if the client cancels the contract with us because of the blackout,” she said.

“Not only me — the anxiety of losing their jobs has gripped my entire team.

“I want to get back to work. I need it desperately. But for that, I want internet service back immediately,” she added.

The situation for Humayun Kabir, a production manager of Creative Clipping Path, is worse than at any time during his 11 years in the industry.

Even during the Covid pandemic, he did not fear unemployment.

“But for the first time, I am afraid of losing my job,” the father of two said.

The firm’s customers expect timely delivery of processed images so that they can upload them to e-commerce sites.

“Somalia and Nigeria have already emerged as tough competitors offering lower rates,” Kabir told AFP, adding that losing clients to them could lead to he and his colleagues being laid off.

“At mid-career, I will not be able to change my profession,” the 36-year-old added.

“My family will be destitute.”