Some 148 Bangladeshis who were stranded in war-torn Libya returned home on Wednesday. IOM, the UN Migration Agency, through its Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programme facilitated their return by a charter flight from Misrata Airport in Libya. The returnees include conflict wounded, survivors of failed sea crossings to Europe, and former detainees.
On arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the IOM team provided them food, health screenings, psychosocial support, information and cash assistance for onward travel from the airport to home. Md Akbor was one of them who went to Libya four years back through a middleman in his area, Moheshpur under the Jhenidah district.
He got a job in a factory in Libya, but the salary was too poor to survive. One day an airstrike took place on his factor. A number of 13 people including four Bangladeshis died from the airstrike. “It was a horrible experience. I saw people were dying. Fortunately, I was alive,” Akbor said in the airport.
After this horrifying experience, Akbor decided to come back home. He communicated with the IOM in Libya through the Bangladesh Embassy there. And, finally, he came back home on Wednesday. “It’s a big help for me. Because of the support from IOM, I have come back home.”
Among the returnees, eight persons are physically ill. They have been given intensive health care support and admitted to a hospital for treatment. Supported by the European Union Trust Fund, returnees will also receive reintegration assistance to restore their lives. Giorgi Gigauri, IOM Bangladesh Chief of Mission, said they spared no effort in protecting and assisting the most vulnerable Bangladeshi migrants who find themselves stranded in most precarious conditions as hostilities continue in Libya.
“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,” he added. Since 2015, over 1,400 Bangladeshi migrants have returned home through the Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programme of the IOM.
