422 more Bangladeshis to return from Lebanon today

At least 422 more Bangladeshis will return home from Lebanon by a special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines today.

The flight will leave for Dhaka from the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut this afternoon.

Earlier, on May 8, 417 Bangladeshis returned under the voluntary repatriation program of the Bangladesh Embassy for those who became undocumented while in Lebanon.

About 6,500 Bangladeshis have returned from Lebanon on 16 special flights of Biman since February 15.

On Thursday, the Bangladesh Embassy handed over air tickets to the returning citizens at the Al Ansar Stadium in Beirut in the presence of Bangladesh Ambassador to Lebanon Major General Jahangir Al Mustahidur Rahman and Labor Secretary Abdullah Al Mamun.

Expatriate Bangladeshis in the country are living in dire financial condition due to long-term lockdowns amid Covid-19, political instability and unbridled rise in prices of essential commodities, including the abnormal rise in the value of the dollar.

Subrata Saha Babu is an expatriate journalist living in Lebanon.