On Thursday, June 21, at around 6 a.m., 175 Bangladeshi citizens who were held at the Ganfuda Detention Center in Benghazi, Libya, arrived in Dhaka on a Burak Airlines flight.
A Bangladeshi embassy official in Tripoli confirmed the news to InfoMigrants, stating that the return of the 175 Bangladeshis was coordinated with the relevant Libyan authorities and facilitated with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
According to the embassy, after receiving the Bangladeshis from the Ganfuda Detention Center on Wednesday, August 20, they were flown back on a chartered Burak Airlines flight (UZ 222) from Benina International Airport in Benghazi later that afternoon. The flight landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Thursday morning.
A delegation from the embassy, led by Ambassador Major General Abul Hasnat Muhammad Khairul Bashar, was present at the detention center to bid farewell to the returning Bangladeshis. The ambassador expressed gratitude to the Libyan authorities and the IOM for their cooperation and hoped that this collaboration would continue in the future.
With IOM’s support, a total of 5,717 Bangladeshi citizens have been safely repatriated from June 2023 to August 20 of this year.
Addressing the Bangladeshi returnees, the ambassador emphasized that there is no substitute for gaining the skills to go abroad legally and safely. He urged every Bangladeshi to raise awareness in their communities about the risks of irregular migration and advised returnees to take legal action against human trafficking networks. He assured that the embassy’s support will continue.
Ambassador Abul Hasnat Muhammad Khairul Bashar highlighted that irregular migration not only causes financial and physical harm to individuals but also severely affects their families and communities. He added that irregular migration damages the country’s reputation internationally and limits opportunities for overseas employment through legal channels.
He emphasized that by acquiring skills and going abroad through proper legal channels, expatriates can work with dignity and make valuable contributions to the national economy.
The embassy further stated that prior interviews were conducted with Bangladeshis held at the Ganfuda Detention Center. After identity verification, travel permits were issued for them, and with the approval of local authorities and overall support from the IOM, their repatriation to Bangladesh was successfully carried out.
Source: Deutsche Welle.