Penang Monthly sheds light on the plight of an undocumented Bangladeshi migrant worker as he speaks about his new life in Malaysia and the horrors of human trafficking.
I watched him strike my friend’s head with a steel rod. But I couldn’t do anything to help. I was paralyzed with fear, and even if I did something, there was a very high chance that I would become his next target. The ship’s owner killed at least 30 people during that trip alone. The bodies were thrown overboard. I have never witnessed violence of such magnitude before.
The cluster of squalid shacks where a dozen or so undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers live is well-hidden from view. As I enter the area, the odour of sweat, magnified by the heat, hangs in the air.
Shammu, my interviewee, stands wary but welcoming at the entrance of his shack. He is one of the few Bangladeshis there fluent enough in English for an interview. “I came to Malaysia in June 2014, shortly after completing my master’s degree in Political Science at Bangladesh National University.” Enticed by the stories his uncle painted of Malaysia and its people, Shammu came to the country in search of a better future. “I had heard promising tales of Malaysia being a wealthy country, about how my people could easily secure jobs and make good money here to send back to their families.”
It was not, however, a bed of roses. “Since coming to Malaysia, I’ve had to change jobs thrice now. My first job was working at a fish farm. I would help catch the fishes, then kill and distribute them to the restaurants with my boss. The job was good – I suppose it was beginner’s luck. But the business went bankrupt so I next became a gardener at a luxury residential neighbourhood. I worked nine hours a day, 26 days a month. But the wage was little. Now, I’m working at a laundromat. I earn good money here, about RM1,500 monthly excluding overtime pay. But I have to work 12 hours a day.”
