102 more sent back home

Saudi Arabia sent back another 102 Bangladeshi migrant workers on Thursday night amid a deportation spree.

The Gulf country has sent back 183 migrant workers including 20 female workers in two separate flights on Wednesday night and Thursday early hours.

The latest deportees arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka in a Saudi Airlines flight around 11:20pm on Thursday, according to Brac Migration Programme.

After their arrival, Brac with the help of Prabashi Kalyan Desk set up by the expatriates' welfare ministry at the airport provided them with immediate support.

With them, some 4,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers including 175 female workers have returned from the Gulf country this year, Brac said.

Shariful Hasan, head of Brac Migration Programme, said on an average about 50,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers are deported by different countries each year.

Many of the workers returned home "empty-handed", said Shariful.

He urged recruiting agencies to be more mindful while sending workers abroad so that they do not have to return home in this manner.

On the latest Saudi deportees, Shariful said the authorities concerned should collect the workers' accounts and find out the reason behind their deportation.

He also called upon the government and Bangladesh mission authorities in the Kingdom to identify the reasons.

Chalking out a work plan to support the returning migrant workers is necessary, he said, adding that Brac has initiatives to provide such deported workers with counselling, skill training and financial support.