Staff Reporter : A total of 215 more Bangladeshi workers were returned home mostly empty handed from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night.
Officials of Wage Earner Welfare Board and BRAC migration programme said that the Saudi returnees were landed in Dhaka by two flights of Saudi Airline.
One of the flight landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:20pm with 86 workers and another plane landed at the airport at 1:15am with 129 workers.
Among the returnees, Ilias Ali, of Golapgonj, Sylhet, said he comeback in totally empty handed with a huge burden of loan which he borne to met the costing of Saudi migration.
“A recruiting agency sent me to Saudi Arab saying I must get a good job in a certain company there. But I got no job in the mentioned company. Then I worked here and there for two years,” Ilias said.
He said that he spent about 21 thousand Riyal in two phases to get Akama (Work permit) but failed to get.
Lastly, his latest Kofil (employer) asked him 27 thousand Riyal to prepare an Akama, but he said had no such amount of money to him.
Ilias then decided to surrender himself to police and return by them to the country.
The over 50 aged Ilias are serious tension that how to repay his loans and how to meet family demands including study costing of four children.
Kamal Hossain of the same district also expressed his sorrow story telling his pain of empty handed return.
Similarly, Sohrab of Kishoreganj said he went to the country two years ago. He failed to earn his migration costs Tk 5 lakh yet, but police sent back him.
Sohrab said his future has gone in dark for the Saudi police crackdown.
Harunur Rashid of Gazipur, said Saudi police detained him while he was returning residence from workplace.
“I have legal work permit (Akama), but the authorities ignored my repeated appeals and sent back home,” he said.
Imran Hossain also from Gazipur said, he sent back by Saudi authority without bringing sufficient amount of money from the country.
Shahbul Islam of Tangail migrated Saudi Arabia with driving visa about four months ago.
He returned empty handed as failed to get job there and earn nothing in last four months.
Zahed Ali of the same district also returned empty handed.
Ibrahim Hossain of Cumilla said his dream destroyed by the Saudi police raids as he sent back without earning sufficient money against his migration cost.
Similarly Babul Mian of Narsingdi also expressed his agony of returning empty handed.
In November, around 1,561 workers were deported Saudi Arabia while over 21,000 workers were deported the country since January.
Most of the returnees said, that their employers did not prepare papers including work permits though they paid fees.
The local employers did not take responsibility of the workers for their detention.
BRAC migration programme chief Shariful Hasan said the government should take preventive measures before sending workers to Saudi Arabia.
He also asked the government to ban on so called free visas.
