Staff Reporter :
Amid rising conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Bangladeshis in Ukraine were worried for the situation unfolding there.
Nearly 1500Bangladeshi nationals live in different parts of Ukraine, including its bordering areas, Sultana Laila Hossain, Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Poland told BBC Bangla.
“These expatriate Bangladeshis are in a state of anxietyamid escalating tensions in Ukraine,” she said.
The ambassador said, “Bangladeshi nationals live scatteredly all over Ukraine and there are many Bangladeshis including students in the troubled areas of Eastern Ukraine.”
She said that although there are difficulties for Bangladeshi students and businessmen to leave Ukraine for various reasons, many are thinking of leaving Ukraine.
Laila Hossain also said Bangladeshis living in Ukraine were in touch with them and they had contacted the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka about what kind of assistance could be given to them if they wanted to leave.
She also said Poland has opened its border with Ukraine.
“The Polish government has informed us in a briefing if citizens of third countries in Ukraine want to leave the country, Poland will allow them to stay in transit for 15 days.”
Khaleda Nasrin Nilima, a resident of Kharkiv, Ukraine, has been in the country for almost 30 years. Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet era, the current state of war – everything happened before her eyes. But after so long, this Bangladeshi doctor has started suffering from uncertainty about staying in Ukraine. “I have been decorating the house with care for so long, now I have to leave it. For now, I will stay for a while in a friend’s house near the Poland border in the West. Then I will decide whether to stay in Ukraine, or go to Bangladesh or go somewhere else, ” DrNilima told BBC Bangla. The city Dr Nilima lives in is 30 kilometers from Kharkiv on the Russian border. It is also a city in eastern Ukraine. The city is known for manufacturing heavy vehicles like planes, tanks, tractors etc. “I’m very worried, so I’m moving to another city. I will leave tomorrow. I have lived in this house for twenty years, So, I do not want to leave at all. But I don’t feel safe staying here now,” said Dr. Nilima.
The situation in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, is much more normal than in Kharkiv.
Mahbub Alam, a Bangladeshi- origin resident of the city, told BBC Bangla: “The concert is going on, the office-court are running and the vehicles are plying on the roads. But everyone has a discussion about Russian invasion threat.”
However, he said that the Bangladeshis living in the cities near the Russian border are very worried.
“I’m talking and communicating regularly with many people. They are a little scared. Many of them are living in dorms or homes. “The situation is getting worse. They may move to Kiev or to Poland,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh government is ready to take necessary measures to get its nationals back home safely from Ukraine.
However, no Bangladeshi returned home from Ukraine so far, Foreign Ministry sources said on Wednesday.
“We have told our nationals living in Ukraine to stay safe amid looming war tensions there. If anyone wants to get back home, we would assist them,” Director General (East Europe and CIS) Sikder Bodiruzzaman told the New Nation over telephone.
He further said the decision to get back home solely depended on the Bangladeshi nationals.
“If anybody wants to come back, we would waive consular fee as per the directives of our Finance Ministry and Home Ministry,” he further said.
He also said that the Poland government has offered a visa facility to the Bangladeshi nationals if they want to stay in Poland amid the war tensions.
“Poland government offered a two week visa facility to the Bangladeshi nationals to enter into Poland. Though it’s a short term visa, it is another gateway for the Bangladeshi nationals for safe exit,” Sikder Bodiruzzaman said.
