Bangladeshis phone home
By Ria Basu

Like many people in India, I have always felt that it is not easy to make out from a distance if someone belongs to India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. All these 3 countries share the same forebears, clothes, culture and traditions.  And despite the hard line views of some right wingers in these countries, the general populace has a fondness for each other.

But there are some differences – some blatant and some subtle.

One subtle difference is that our Bangladeshi brothers and sisters phone home more than we do.  Being web savvy, many use the internet to speak to their loved ones.

LIRNEasia,  a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank, has just released a survey which shows that expatriate Bangladeshis called home more frequently than their Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan and Filipino counterparts, spending $48 a month to stay in touch.

The article reads in part:

“
The survey '"Teleuse at the bottom of the pyramid", conducted by LIRNEasia, a regional ICT policy research institute, found 87 percent of Bangladeshi migrants called home at least once a week, while 34 percent called home daily.

Dr Rohan Samarejiva, chairman and CEO of the LIRNEasia, disclosed the result of the survey on Sunday in Dhaka.

Dr Samarejiva said the survey was conducted over 1,500 overseas and domestic migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand. The survey found that on average a Bangladeshi overseas migrant spends $48 per month, as against $15 by an Indian overseas migrant calling home.

The most popular way of communicating home was by telephone, though unlike the other nationalities, a significant 28 percent also made calls through the internet.
“

What was particularly interesting was that many domestic migrants surveyed in Bangladesh were found to be sending money home through mobile phones, despite the lack of a formal mobile payment system in the country.

Now this is another good habit we can learn from Bangladeshis.  Phone more to keep family happy.