Last Friday, yet another terrorist attack abroad rattled the foundations of a country. Bangladesh is the latest victim of these attacks by Islamic militants, having seen a restaurant in Dhaka targeted last week. Unfortunately, this tragedy may have far-reaching implications for one of the world’s poorest countries.
Bangladesh actually relies on its garment industry (which generates more than $26 billion annually) and its building industry. Those two industries alone make up 80 percent of the small country’s income. In the wake of the attack, foreign companies have ordered their traveling natives to stop travel to Bangladesh. In addition, they’ve ordered their workers to stay home. This could do irreparable damage to the country’s economy if the action is prolonged.
In addition, the country’s tourism industry is also seeing a rash of cancellations as nervous travelers decided to look elsewhere for their holidays. The beautiful country’s already fragile infrastructure could be looking at some tough times in their future should this trepidation continue into the future.
While the major clothing companies that operate in Bangladesh — like H&M — have yet to begin moving their factories to other countries (which would be disastrous), they are certainly considering the move in the wake of the unrest.
