PEOPLE in Bahrain have been urged to be more humane towards low-income workers instead of blaming them for the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the kingdom.
It is time for everyone to unite and fight the pandemic, and help the less fortunate during these exceptional circumstances, said Capital Governor Shaikh Hisham bin Abdularahman Al Khalifa.
He was responding to accusations that blue-collar workers were responsible for the surge in Covid-19 cases, especially during Ramadan when they would gather in large numbers to collect food parcels being distributed by charitable organisations.
Most of these migrant workers have either lost their jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus on businesses, or have no money since they have not been paid their wages.
“Right now, we are dealing with the situation on a medical and humanitarian level,” Shaikh Hisham told the GDN.
“The government has announced a stimulus package to help businesses, while we have daily provided more than 30,000 hot meals to the needy to ensure they do not go hungry especially during Ramadan.”
The GDN reported last Friday that the Capital Governorate, in co-operation with the police directorate, had distributed 400,000 iftar meals to expatriate workers during Ramadan, under the ‘Feena Khair’ campaign spearheaded by the Royal Humanitarian Foundation.
Shaikh Hisham said this was a humanitarian gesture within national efforts to combat the coronavirus, and highlighted that those in charge of distributing the meals had been fully committed to precautionary measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
However, several videos were circulated online showing hundreds of workers gathering to collect food parcels, defying social distancing protocols.
Charity organisations continued to distribute food across the country, despite the Cabinet banning the practice due to risks involved in the infection spreading.
Police took action against some of the organisers of the distribution drive while patrols were stepped up in high-density areas to ensure everyone wore masks and maintained a safe distance from each other.
“We delivered hot meals directly to the workers’ accommodations and followed all safety protocols,” said Shaikh Hisham.
Numbers
“Unfortunately, once the word gets out workers line up in large numbers to receive the food parcels, and police have to be called in to control the situation.
“We moved quickly from one place to another during our daily distribution drive, but sometimes other groups would arrive at a place at the same time to give away iftar meals.”
The governor said a new strategy is being worked out to continue the food aid drive after Eid. “The economic situation and the pandemic has affected people and stressed them out.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing reactions against the labourers, but everyone should understand it’s important to protect this segment because of fears of an outbreak in densely populated areas.”
He said the pandemic was not expected to end soon, and it required everyone to join hands to fight it. “Labourers are part of our economy; they are in the central markets, supermarkets and even in our homes.
“It’s important to help and educate them.
“We need to show kindness as some of them have lost their jobs – and remember, giving food to the needy is part of our culture.”
A number of low-income workers have been shifted to dedicated government shelters in Manama from their overcrowded camps.
During a webinar last week, Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani said people should not be ashamed if they contracted the virus, while Labour Market Regulatory Authority chief executive Ausamah Al Absi told British MPs during a separate webinar that xenophobia was one of the biggest concerns in Bahrain.
sandy@gdn.com.bh
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