Bangladeshi migrants wait out Erbil lockdown in cramped conditions

Erbil’s low-paid migrant workers have been left in a precarious state since the government imposed the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. Unable to work and unable to leave, one household of Bangladeshi workers can only wait out the storm.

Burhan Odina, 40, has worked in Erbil for 12 years. Because the goldsmiths where he works in Erbil bazaar pays him on a daily rate, each passing day under lockdown leaves him another day out of pocket.

The loss of pay is especially troubling for these migrants workers because the majority of what they earn is normally sent home to their families in Bangladesh.

“Daily I am paid around 15,000 to 20,000 Iraqi dinars ($12 to $17),” he told Rudaw.

He is one of 15 Bangladeshi migrants living in one small apartment in Taajeel, central Erbil. In a tiny, basic kitchen, the men prepare traditional Bangladeshi dishes.

Living in such cramped conditions is a cause for concern – at a time when the World Health Organization (WHO) encourages ‘social distancing’ to prevent contagion.

“It is true we are gathered [closely] but we are clean and keep our distance and clean every day because of corona,” Odina said. “I wash my hands often…and we use sanitizers everywhere in the house.”

Some of Odina’s housemates work for government agencies as street sweepers and expect to continue receiving their salaries despite the lockdown.

Nevertheless, long hours spent indoors are proving a strain on the mind and the wallet.

“There is no work. I sit, smoke, drink tea, and video-call with my family,” Odina said.

“We get no money. We spend the whole day sitting.”

Photos and reporting by Bilind. T Abdullah