Landlord to face court over Bahrain fire

The Migrants Workers Protection Society (MWPS) in Bahrain says the Bangladeshi Embassy has agreed to legally pursue the owner of a dilapidated building which burnt down on Friday leaving three people dead.

It’s believed 22 construction workers lived in the four-bedroom house in Bahrain’s Jidhaf area. Three Bangladeshis were killed and seven others injured in the blaze.

MWPS spokesperson Marietta Dias said the house was in a terribly dilapidated state and should not have been rented out.

“Nobody seems to know how it started, but that’s really not the point – one match could destroy these houses,” she said.

“There are thousands of them in this kind of condition. This is tragic and yet it is something that could happen almost on a daily basis in Bahrain.”

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Dias said the workers' employers, visa sponsors and the building’s owner should all be held responsible for allowing the men to live in “animal-like” conditions.

 “The embassy has assured us they will pursue the matter in court – in this case we want to make sure that everything is not just forgotten in a few weeks,” she said.

“You’ve probably read in the paper about how the landlord is sorry and crying – but there’s no point feeling sorry - the house should never have been let out.

“And he was getting pretty good money – 160 Dinars (US $424) a month for four rooms.”

Two of the men killed were brothers – Tofa Mia, 40, and Kodor Mia, 32 – and had been in Bahrain for 17 and 15 years respectively.

They were under the sponsorship of the building owner's nephew, though not working for him, according to local media reports.

The third man –Mohammed Masood, 47 – is believed to be a free visa worker. All three came from Sylhet in north-east Bangladesh.

Dias said MWPS is now providing food and medical care to the others workers who lived in the house.

She said there are thousands of construction workers living in similar unsafe conditions across Bahrain and called on the government to act.

“It’s no use just putting it in writing because I tell you, the Bahrain government has got the laws beautifully written down – but they need to enforce them,” she said.

“Employ as many inspectors as it takes to not only inspect the places, but enforce the law – close them down, get them out of these places and set up separate accommodation for labourers.

“They’ve been talking about putting them in labour camps for years, but nobody seems to be physically doing anything.”