Bangladeshi-Americans Meeting with White House State Department officials

Date:
March 2000
Location:
Washington, DC
Information:

A delegation of Bangladeshi-Americans met with senior White House and State Department officials to exchange views on a number of issues on Tuesday prior to a scheduled visit by President Clinton to South Asia, including Bangladesh, starting March 20th, 2000. The officials met included Messrs. Karl F. Inderfurth, Assistant Secretary of State, Bruce O. Riedel, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council and Ms. Laura Efurd, Deputy Assistant to the President.

The issues raised by the Bangladeshi-American community leaders included technical expertise that the US could provide to Bangladesh to solve its developmental impediment and environmental disaster, a scientific and technical cooperation agreement between Bangladesh and the US, forgiveness of bilateral debt and issuance of student visas to all candidates with proper documentation. The delegation also sought Administration support for Bangladesh Status Adjustment Bill HR 849 and a general amnesty for undocumented Bangladeshis in the US. The Bangladeshi-American delegation also asked for State Department intervention to seek limited diplomatic immunity for a diplomat from the State of Bahrain who is being charged for slavery-like practices and violation of human rights in a court in New York.

Bangladeshi-Americans asked the Administration to offer the services of the US Federal Mediation Service to impart latest conflict management techniques to Bangladesh. Highly politicized higher education and different professions including the unions and a lack of dialogue among political and social groups are adversely impacting development including the much-needed flow of foreign investments. The opposition political parties, for example, called 6 days of strikes in November 1999 and the frequency of such strikes are on the increase. Earlier the governing party had resorted to such strikes also when it was in the Opposition. These strikes are impacting the normal daily lives and social and economic development of the country.

The delegation also urged Administration officials to train Bangladeshi experts in the measurement, mitigation and management of the world’s worst environmental crisis. As a result of promotion of water wells by UNICEF and others to provide “safe” potable water to the relatively poor in Bangladesh, over 50 million people are now drinking ground water containing lethal arsenic level. Thousands of people have died from arsenicosis and thousands more are showing the symptoms of the disease. Bangladesh does not have the means to deal with the crisis due to the lack of scientific and technical expertise in this area. The delegation emphasized that the best way to provide support is through scientific and technical assistance to appropriate research, educational and social institutions and support of a public awareness campaign as many people continue to drink the contaminated waters despite their known deadly effect.

Bangladeshi-Americans also urged the Administration to forgive bilateral debt to Bangladesh and use the resources for promoting social projects aimed at alleviating poverty. Bangladesh has a population of 130 million in a size little larger than the State of Wisconsin with a per capita income of less than a dollar a day.

The delegation brought to Administration attention charges that the US Embassy in Dhaka is reported to reject student visas to a significant proportion of applicants even though they have obtained the necessary I-20 and IAP-66 from colleges for their Admission. Bangladeshi-Americans asked that all students with such documents be granted visas to come and study in the US.

Bangladeshi-Americans asked the State Department to intervene in the case of Ms. Shamela Begum so as to send a clear message that the United States will not tolerate slavery-like practices and human rights violations by foreign diplomats and G-IV visa holders. Judge Berman of the Southern District Court of New York will hold oral arguments on this case on April 3, 2000. Through her lawyer, Ms. Begum has filed an action to redress the egregious wrongs committed against her by her former employer at the Bahrain Embassy. The suit alleges violations of her rights guaranteed by the Thirteenth Amendment that prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, violation of rights granted under federal and state labor laws and claims of assault and battery and false imprisonment. In response, the defendants have asserted diplomatic immunity.

The delegation also asked Administration support for Bangladesh Status Adjustment Bill HR 849, which has been sponsored by Congressman Ben Gilman and which awaits committee hearing. The Bill seeks to legalize long-time resident Bangladeshi immigrants in the US without proper documentation. The delegation also requested a general amnesty for all undocumented Bangladeshis in the US.

The Bangladeshi-American community is fast growing but remains relatively small. According to an estimate by the Bangladeshi-American Foundation, the community size in 2000 is about 200,000 compared with over 21,000 a decade earlier. The community is relatively youthful and consists of high achievers. For example, according to 1990 Census data, two in three Bangladeshi-Americans have at least a bachelor’s degree compared with one in five among white Americans. Moreover, about 43 percent of Bangladeshi-Americans have a graduate or professional degree compared with about 8 percent for the white Americans. And, about one in three Bangladeshi-Americans works as a university professor, a medical doctor or an engineer.

The Bangladeshi-American delegation consisted of representatives of:

American Association of Bangladeshi Engineers and Architects
Bangladesh Association of America
Bangladesh Chemical and Biological Society of North America
Bangladesh Center for Cultural Exchange
Bangladesh Environment Network
The Bangladeshi-American Foundation, Inc.
Expatriate Bangladeshi 2000
North America Bangladesh Statistics Association
TechBangla

For any further details, contact: Dr. Badrul Haque, Chairperson, The Bangladeshi-American Foundation, Inc. at Probashiusa98@hotmail.com