31 return home from war-torn Iraq
Thirty one more Bangladeshi workers today returned home from Iraq on security grounds as the war-torn country is facing conflicts.
A flight of Qatar Airline carrying the migrants landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 6:00am.
The returnees were working for ‘Bismaya New City Project’ 25 km away from Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. They were employed by Hanwha Engineering and Construction, a South Korean Company for the project.
As the Middle-Eastern country is passing through uncertain conflicts, the Bangladeshis there are working in fear.
“We didn’t want to work in the risk and uncertainty. So, we have resigned and returned home,” Shajahan Miah, a resident of Brahmahanbaria told The Daily Star at the airport.
Their employing company has tried to convince them to stay and work, but they ignored it as they thought they wouldn’t be safe during crisis, he added.
“Our company didn’t allow us to go out of the project area on security grounds. We had to stay like prisoners - that is really boring for us,” Shahjahan said.
He could not travel outside of the project area for the total eight months of his stay in the company. The situation was same for others, he mentioned.
“Our ambassador said he would protect us from any danger in crisis situations. But he couldn’t understand that we were already unsafe due to restrictions of the company,” the returnee added.
Around 4,000 Bangladeshis are working for the project under the South Korean company. Since the conflicts began in Iraq last month, several hundred Bangladeshis resigned as they wanted to return home.
Some of them have later withdrawn their resignations on assurance from the company and the Bangladesh embassy in Baghdad.
However, at least 105 Bangladeshis of the same company returned home on the same grounds in two weeks of this month.
Meanwhile 15 stranded Bangladeshis at Irbil airport in Iraq will return home today (Saturday) under the government’s supervision.
The Bangladesh embassy has arranged their return home, said the foreign ministry.
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