Staff Reporter :
About 148 Bangladeshi migrants, who were stranded in war-torn Libya, returned home on Wednesday morning, according to International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Bangladesh.
A charter flight carrying the returning Bangladeshis, including survivors of catastrophe in the sea on way to Europe and detainees landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, says a release of IOM Bangladesh.
The Dhaka, bound flight left Misrata Airport in Libya on Tuesday, with the Bangladeshis who were helped upon arrival by IOM staff, the release added.
IOM facilitated those who returned through its Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programme, it said.
IOM staff in Dhaka provided the BD migrants with food, health screenings and psychosocial support and cash assistance for onward travel from the airport to home, it added.
Among them, eight nationals were physically ill. They were given healthcare support and admitted to a hospital for treatment.
Supported by the European Union Trust Fund, the migrants will receive reintegration assistance to restore their lives. Giorgi Gigauri, IOM Bangladesh Chief of Mission, said, “As hostilities continue in Libya, we spare no effort in protecting and assisting the most vulnerable Bangladeshi migrants who found themselves stranded in most precarious conditions.”
Since 2015, over 1,400 Bangladeshi migrants returned home through the VHR programme.
