IOM, the UN Migration Agency, through its Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programme facilitated the safe return of 148 Bangladeshi migrants stranded in Libya, said a press release. A charter flight carrying returnees, including conflict wounded, survivors of failed attempts sneak into Europe through sea, and former detainees, arrived in Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday morning.

The flight left Misrata Airport in Libya on Tuesday bound for Dhaka, where they were assisted upon arrival by the IOM staff.  Returned migrants received counselling and vulnerability screening, immediate direct assistance, assistance to obtain travel documents and other consular services, pre-departure health checks, coordination with countries of origin for specific assistance to returnees at the IOM shelters and Misrata Airport in Libya.

IOM staff in Dhaka provided food, health screenings, psychosocial support, information and cash assistance for onward travel from the airport to home. Md. Akbor went to Libya four years back through a middleman in his area, Moheshpur under the Jhinaidah district. He got a job in a factory in Libya, but the salary was too poor to survive. One day an airstrike took place on his factor. Thirteen people including four Bangladeshis died in the airstrike.

Akbor said, “It was a horrible experience. I saw people were dying. Fortunately, I was alive.” After this horrifying experience, Akbor decided to come back home. He communicated with the IOM in Libya through the Bangladesh Embassy there. And, finally, he came back home yesterday. Akbor said, “It’s a big help for me. Because of the support from IOM, I have come back home.”

Among the returnees, eight persons are physically ill. They have been given intensive healthcare support and admitted to a hospital for treatment. Supported by the European Union Trust Fund, returnees will also receive reintegration assistance to restore their lives.