As many as 114 Bangladeshi nationals returned home from Libya Thursday, thanks to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). A special flight of Buraq Air carrying the returnees arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8.15am, said Zia, additional superintendent (media) of the Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn). Read:Bangladesh 6th largest migrant sending country: IOM Every returnee was provided food and a financial assistance of Tk 4,750 by IOM. These Bangladeshis went to Dubai, Oman and Malaysia on ‘visit visas’ from Bangladesh last year. From there, they went to Libya by paying brokers up to Tk 11-15 lakh each. But they were detained by Libyan law enforcers in Tripoli. And some of them even served up to nine months in jail. Later, the United Nations migration agency facilitated their return to Bangladesh. IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return Programme can be life-saving for migrants stranded or in detention, especially in conflict-ridden countries.  Since 2015, a total of 2,942 Bangladeshi migrants have returned from Libya through the programme, which is a part of the larger EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration.  Read:IOM seeks focus on perilous journeys by Bangladeshis to migrate The programme facilitates orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration management through the development of rights-based and development-focused policies and processes on protection and sustainable reintegration.  The necessity of the programme was magnified in 2020, when 30 migrants—including 26 Bangladeshis — were shot and killed at a smuggling warehouse in the Libyan town of Mizdah.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is a timely reminder of the problems and risks faced by over 700,000 Bangladeshis who choose to migrate abroad every year.   "Vulnerable migrants are often the target of traffickers and find themselves in situations that can result in debt bondage, forced labour, sexual exploitation, forced marriages and other forms of modern slavery," said IOM Chief of Mission in Bangladesh Giorgi Gigauri in a message marking the Day. Read:Deaths on maritime migration routes to Europe soar in first half of 2021: IOM Gigauri said they are working very closely with the government of Bangladesh, and are redoubling their efforts and looking at not only the whole of government but also the whole of society. "As the Bangladesh UN Network on Migration (BDUNNM), we are also bringing together civil society and UN agencies to do our utmost to assist these migrants in need," he said.   The Covid-19 situation has further aggravated problems, and migrants have become even more vulnerable as some have lost their jobs.   Read:IOM’s emergency director urges durable solutions to Rohingya Crisis Some are more desperate, looking for new jobs and new opportunities to feed their families. "Trafficking affects everyone. It affects people on an individual level, on a family level, and the level of society. And it’s our job to do something about it," said the IOM Mission chief in Bangladesh.   This year’s theme of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is “Listening to the Victims”.   Read:IOM ramps up health response as 2nd wave of COVID-19 hits Cox’s Baza "We must listen to the people who have been affected so that we can assist them better. We must listen to the survivors of trafficking to hear about their experiences, their stories, and not only learn from them but use that knowledge to improve our interventions and our response to stop trafficking," he said. "So please join me, and let’s come together to battle this heinous crime so that we can eradicate human trafficking in Bangladesh and beyond," he added.

The Libyan government has strongly condemned the killing of Bangladesh citizens in Libya and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

All 26 Bangladeshi nationals, who were killed in a gun attack in Libya on Thursday, have been buried at Mizdah.   M Ashraful Islam, Counsellor (Labour wing) at Bangladesh Embassy in Libya, confirmed it to UNB.   The Bangladeshi citizens were killed while 11 others were injured in a gun attack by some human traffickers on Thursday in the desert town of Mizdah, some 180km from Tripoli.   Bangladesh had communicated with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to make arrangements for the bodies of the victims and sought compensation for their families.   Bangladesh has also sought information on the human traffickers and demanded punishment of those involved in human trafficking and killing after their arrest.   Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday said six out of 11 injured Bangladesh citizens have fully recovered and Bangladesh Mission in Libya is in touch with them to get further details on the incident.   On Saturday, Bangladesh released names of 23 of those killed.   The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with information from Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli, also provided the identities of the injured.   The 23 deceased are -- Sujan and Kamrul from Gopalganj; Jakir Hossain, Jewel, Firuz, Jewel-2, Manik, Asadul, Aynal Mollah, Monir, Sajib, Shaheen, and Shamim from Madaripur; Arfan from Dhaka; Lal Chand from Magura; Rajon, Rahim, Shakil, Sakib, Akash, Shohag and Muhammad Ali from Kishoreganj; and Rakibul from Jashore.

Bangladesh has communicated with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to bring back the bodies of 26 people who were killed in a gun attack in Libya and sought compensation for their families.

Some 50 multipurpose cyclone shelters have been prepared and 256 cyclone preparation programme volunteer units provided cyclone early warning system messages to the community in Rohingya camp as cyclone Amphan is unlikely to hit Cox's Bazar district.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has initiated a project in Cox’s Bazar to produce 6,000 washable cloth masks for frontline Cyclone Preparedness volunteers and Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel who have been working with UN Migration to raise awareness of the disease and communicate ways to avoid infection.  

A total 148 Bangladeshis were brought back from war-torn Libya on Wednesday through Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) of International Organisation for Migration (IOM).