Reza Mahmud :
About 18,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers face deportations from Greece.
They are panicked and seeking Bangladesh government’s help to stop their expulsions.
Sources said about 30,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers are living in the Mediterranean country most of them are working in agriculture sectors.
As per the official sources, about 12,000 of them have awarded with work permits while about 18,000 are working without any legal documents.
In these circumstances, the migration authority of Athens has started to sending back the undocumented workers and to return those to home.
The authority already sent back about 19 Bangladeshi undocumented migrants recently.
They are also trying to search and detain more undocumented migrants for sending them back.
Such actions created panic among the undocumented migrants who are working for long and are contributing both the Greece and Bangladeshi economy parallel.
Migrants rights forum, Greece chapter demanded to Athens to stop such measures as the foreign workers are working hard even during the pandemic to keep the wheel of the country’s economy on run.
Leaders of the migrants’ rights forum said thousands of migrants including Bangladeshis are working hard in the country’s agricultural sector avoiding the fear of the pandemic.
Most of them are working in the water melon and strawberry fields which are the major financial crops of the country.
Abdur Rahman, a Bangladeshi migrant working in West Manolada in Greece for past several years.
He said, the country has not sent back any Bangladeshi workers since 2016.
But suddenly the authority started to send back migrants who have no legal permits to stay and work in the country.
Abdur Rahman said, the government mainly started the operation to prevent illegally entering migrants.
Besides the actions against the illegally intruders, the authorities have started to detain and sending back undocumented workers also.
But those migrant workers were working for several years here with honesty and hard labour.
The migrant workers are seeking Bangladesh government’s help in this regards saying the both country has signed MoU on last Wednesday for recruiting and permitting Bangladeshi workers to stay in Greece legally.
When contacted Imran Ahmed, Minister of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment told The New Nation on Wednesday, “Athens has agreed with us to give work permits to Bangladeshi workers who already are staying in Greece.”
The minister said that he will request the authority of Athens for highly considering the matter and not to send back migrants to Dhaka.
“We must see the matter and will request them, (Greek officials) to stop deportation measures right now and to start legalization to those who are working there with honesty,” the minister said.
