Bangladeshis on P.E.I. hope for end to violent clashes in their home country
About three dozen people from Bangladesh living on Prince Edward Island rallied in front of Province House in Charlottetown on Thursday, in solidarity with ongoing protests in their home country.
Clashes between student protesters and police forces have killed an unknown number of people in Bangladesh — at least 26 since Thursday, according to local media.
The students want an end to a quota system that gives 30 per cent of all government jobs to the descendants of war veterans who fought for the country's independence in 1971.
The group in Charlottetown held signs reading "Bangladesh is bleeding" and "Save students in Bangladesh," and stood on Grafton Street in front of the war memorial chanting "we want justice" and "no more violence."
Mri Dul Hasan, an international student on P.E.I., says watching the protests far from home is difficult. (Ken Linton/CBC)
They say it is hard to hear the news when they are so far from home.
"It's making me feel very useless," said Mri Dul Hasan, an international student.
"Seeing, right beside my house, where my university would have been … and all the students there just dying."
Internet, phone disruptions
Hasan has had trouble reaching family and friends, which made the situation more difficult.
"I was at work, thinking that I hope they're alive," he said.
Internet services and mobile data were widely disrupted Thursday night in Bangladesh and remained down on Friday in the capital city of Dhaka.
"I personally wasn't able to speak with my mother for, like, eight hours," said Mirza Sakib, another Bangladeshi at Thursday's rally.
Sakib said he came to the rally to show solidarity with students in Bangladesh.
"We want justice. We don't really know what more we can ask for," he said.
Protesters want merit-based hiring
Protesters in Bangladesh argue the job quota is discriminatory and they want it replaced with a merit-based system.
Hasin Karim, an international student on P.E.I., says he hasn't been sleeping well because of the difficult news from Bangladesh. (Ken Linton/CBC)
Competition for government jobs there is high, said Hasin Karim, a UPEI student who was at the Charlottetown rally.
"It makes things very difficult," he said.
Government jobs are desirable in Bangladesh because they provide security and a good salary, Karim said.
He said he hasn't been sleeping well recently because of the news from home.
"It's really tough, to be honest with you."
