Sense of relief and joy among Bangladeshi community in Qatar as Hasina is ousted

Published: 8 August 2024

Many call for urgent measures to bring normalcy, and closely watch developments back home

NT Bureau
Doha

Several Bangladeshi expats in Qatar have expressed huge relief and joy at the latest turn of devel-opments in their country that saw the ouster of Prime Minister Shikha Hasina, which they hope would lead to restoration of normalcy in the country after weeks of uncertainty and protests.

Speaking to News Trail, they said the entire community here, like the rest of the Bangladeshi dias-pora all over the world, has been going through stress for several days and were concerned about the safety of their loved ones back home as protests convulsed the country when students took to the streets to demand the scrapping of quotas for government jobs.

“There is an immense sense of joy and relief. I would say that all of us are celebrating the fact that Sheikh Hasina has been ousted. Bangladeshi restaurants in Qatar ran out of sweets as our people celebrated after hearing the news from Dhaka,” Israt Ara Younus, President, ANANNA – Associa-tion of Bangladeshi Women in Qatar, told News Trail.

“We were going through days of severe stress. For nearly 20 days, Bangladeshis haven’t sent mon-ey home, like our countrymen from other parts of the world, as we thought these remittances would only strengthen Hasina’s hands,” Israt added.

All Bangladeshis in Qatar have been closely watching developments at home through the main-stream and social media channels and by talking to friends, and during the height of student pro-tests, when internet and mobile services were suspended, many couldn’t speak to their loved ones back home.

“I have been closely following the developments, frequently watching TV for the latest updates or reading online newspapers. My friends and I are frequently holding group video calls to stay in-formed and share our thoughts. Our regular discussions have now shifted to focus solely on the current situation in Bangladesh,” Md. Rahadul Hasan, Technical Manager, Alpha Contracting, said.

“On the one hand, people are happy and optimistic, as evidenced by cheering, buying sweets, and sharing them amongst themselves. This positive atmosphere indicates that many were eager for change and are now hopeful about recent developments. On the other hand, the situation is also marked by tension and unrest, with incidents of violence reported across the country,” he said.

However, despite the violence, many hope the situation would improve fast. “It’s too early to have too many expectations, but the fact that Muhammad Younus, Bangladeshi Nobel laureate, has agreed to become part of an interim government is a good sign,” Israt said.

Many also called for urgent measures to restore normal life.

“The young generation have sacrificed their blood to bring positive changes and showed that they have the power to bring fresh perspectives and demonstrated their ability to achieve their rights. However, I hope that the public won’t misuse the sacrifice as am a bit worried about the current situation because some policemen were killed in revenge for the killing of protestors. But I am hopeful the situation will soon improve and leaders must do everything to make sure that the country resumes normal life,” said Khadiza Begum, a senior Bangladeshi journalist in Qatar.