SM Najmus Sakib
January 30, 2020•Update: January 31, 2020
DHAKA, Bangladesh
A total of 148 migrants who had left for Libya from Bangladesh in search of better employment opportunities, returned Wednesday to Dhaka via voluntary humanitarian return (VHR) by the UN migration agency.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) charted a flight carrying the migrants, the National Communication Officer for the IOM in Dhaka, Md. Sariful Islam, confirmed to Anadolu Agency.
The flight included people who were wounded in conflict, survivors of failed sea crossings to Europe and former detainees.
It left Tuesday from Misrata Airport in Libya and arrived in Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he said.
Md. Tuhin, 26, went to Libya nine years ago through a middleman in the Faridpur district of Dhaka. He worked as cleaner. In 2014, he wanted to return to Bangladesh but could not afford the price of a airline ticket and stayed in war-torn Libya.
“I passed awful days there, I could not go for work often because of a strike as the country was in a war mood. I failed to make any savings for my family even after years of staying in Libya to support after my return to Bangladesh,” he told the Anadolu Agency, adding that there are more Bangladeshis in Libya who want to go back home.
Md Akbor, another returnee, narrated to the IOM he got a job in a factory but the salary was not enough to survive. One day an airstrike hit his factor. Thirteen people, including four Bangladeshis, died in the strike.
“It was a horrible experience. I saw people dying. Fortunately, I was alive,” he said.
Md Tuhind and Md Akbor, among others, communicated with the IOM in Libya through the Bangladesh Embassy and finally returned to home.
“As hostilities continue in Libya, we spare no effort in protecting and assisting the most vulnerable Bangladeshi migrants who find themselves stranded in most precarious conditions. We also make sure that there is a support system available for them upon return home to address the immediate humanitarian and longer-term reintegration needs,” said IOM Bangladesh Chief of Mission Giorgi Gigauri
Since 2015, more than 1,400 Bangladeshi migrants have returned through the VHR program.
