For foreign workers in the Mideast, risk from the Iran war collides with
economic strain at home
[May 04, 2026] By
ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and JIM GOMEZ
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — He had met his 6-year-old son only once. A few
days together in a life otherwise spent apart.
For 15 years, Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun worked in Saudi Arabia, sending
money home to his family in one of the poorest areas of Bangladesh. This
year, he had planned to return, build a larger house with his savings
and spend time with the child he barely knew.
Then, on March 8, a missile struck his workers’ camp. He suffered severe
burns and later died. He was among more than two dozen foreign workers
killed across the Mideast after the United States and Israel went to war
with Iran in February.
Tens of millions of foreign workers have helped build the Gulf Arab
states' modern, oil-fueled economies — with many not fully sharing in
their prosperity. Now they face an even sharper dilemma: Keep working in
the Mideast, where wages are far higher, hoping that a shaky ceasefire
endures; or return to already poor countries where prices have soared
because of the conflict.
Mamun's choice was made for him. He arrived home in a coffin earlier
this month.
“We don’t know what we will do next,” said his widow, Sadia Islam Sarmin.
Millions work with little protection
Migrant workers make up a majority of the population in many Gulf Arab
states. Westerners, Arabs and Indians dominate business and finance,
while laborers from poor countries in Asia and Africa toil for long
hours in scorching temperatures at oil facilities and construction sites
— often with few protections.
The Coalition for Labour Justice for Migrants in the Gulf, an advocacy
group, says few had access to bomb shelters and many were stranded by
the conflict. It says attacks killed at least 24 foreign workers in the
Gulf and four in Israel as Iran and allied armed groups launched waves
of missile and drones strikes. Their count includes eight mariners
killed at sea.
“It’s a very precarious situation for migrant workers,” said Udaya Wagle,
who studies labor and migration at the Northern Arizona University.
A ceasefire was announced in early April, but negotiations to end the
war have repeatedly stalled. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of
Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and gas, and says it will only
reopen it if the war ends and the U.S. lifts its blockade.
The resulting spike in the price of gas, fertilizer and other goods has
hit Asian countries particularly hard.
Remittances from the Gulf make up about 1% of the gross domestic product
of India, 3% to 5% of the GDP in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; and
nearly 10% in Nepal. Now they are more vital than ever, as household
incomes are strained and governments seek foreign currency to buy oil
and gas.
The Gulf economies also face a bleak outlook, with exports bottled up
and key energy facilities in need of repair after missile strikes. The
fighting could resume, as Iran rejects U.S. President Donald Trump 's
demands.
Low-wage laborers are the most vulnerable
Mamun's family awoke on March 9 to phone calls saying the 35-year-old
had been hurt. Video footage shot by another worker showed him sitting
in the open, badly burned and bleeding, crying out for help.
“He never imagined he would be hurt. That a missile would fall on him,”
said Maruf Hasain, his younger brother.
Workers like Mamun are the most vulnerable since they do the “most
dirty, dangerous and difficult” jobs, said Shariful Islam Hasan of the
Bangladeshi development organization BRAC.
[to top of second column] |
Maruf Hasan, brother of Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun comforts his
mother, Shahida Khatun, as she weeps at their home in Rasulpur
village in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh, Friday, April 17, 2026.
(AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)
 In Qatar, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi
factory worker labored through 12-hour shifts as missiles flew
overhead. Shrapnel from one strike fell near his living quarters.
When alarms sounded, he said, workers went to a designated room.
He earns less than $400 monthly and sends two-thirds home. “We have
no choice but to keep working,” he said on condition of anonymity
for fear of angering the authorities.
Qatar enacted several reforms in the run-up to hosting the 2022
World Cup, including the partial dismantling of a system that tied
workers to their employers. But activists say abuses are still
widespread and that workers have few avenues to pursue justice.
Ahmed al-Aliyli, a taxi driver in Qatar, has not sent money home to
his family in Egypt for two months. He once earned as much as $3,000
a month but his income has plunged to a third of that as the war has
disrupted travel. “We are the collateral damage of this war,” he
said.
A slowdown in key sectors like real estate and construction will hit
migrant workers directly, said Hasan of BRAC. Workers from
Bangladesh and Pakistan are especially vulnerable, as they are often
employed informally and without fixed contracts, he said.
Despite reforms in some countries, work permits are also often tied
to a single employer and, in some cases, workers are effectively
stranded, according to the labor coalition. It warned that some
employers may use the conflict to withhold wages, deny leave or
carry out arbitrary dismissals.
For many, going home isn't an option
When the war began, Mamun’s mother, Shahida Khatun, urged him to
come home.
He had been saving up since November. In his last call home, he
promised his younger brother and sisters he would pay for their
studies, that he would build a larger house for his parents and
return for good this spring.
Now, his family is struggling to recover his wages and piece
together a life without him.
“The pain of losing a child. There are no words to describe the
agony,” Kathun said.
For many workers, going home would mean giving up a steady income
and much higher wages.
Marlene Flores, a Filipina worker in Qatar, said she felt the
shudder each time a missile was intercepted. But the tax-free pay
and health insurance made it feel safer — in a way — than the
Philippines, which has declared a ″ national energy emergency.”
“It’s not easy for me to say,” she admitted, “But I would really
stay here.”
Israel also has a large population of foreign workers. Filipino
caregiver Jeremiah Supan continued caring for his two elderly
charges despite near-daily missile alerts, sometimes dashing out for
food or medicine despite the danger. He questions whether his own
family could survive if he returns to the Philippines.
“I know that in the blink of an eye, one can die,” he said. “But
what life shall we return to?”
___
Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Al
Emrun Garjon in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sam Magdy in Cairo, and Eileen Ng
from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
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