On Tunisia-Libya border More join camp Morshed Ali Khan writes from the spot where thousands of Bangladeshi workers have taken shelter after fleeing the Libyan upheaval The government’s promise to take all stranded Bangladeshis home in three days from the Choucha camp appears a far cry with more displaced people arriving here from Libya and ... Read more
trouble torn Libya
Deceived in the desert
Bangladeshi fortune-seekers helpless in north Africa “I came to Libya eleven months ago in a group of 15. At the airport, two men of the agency that organised my work permit and visa in Dhaka took all our passports as soon as we came out of the immigration. We then boarded a bus. In the ... Read more
Home beckons, holds no hope
On Tunisia-Libya Border Home beckons, holds no hope Bangladeshi fortune-seekers tell of manpower touts, survival struggle at border camp “Human trafficking!” exclaimed an IOM official shocked to his very core, “These are Bangladeshi migrant workers in Libya fleeing Gaddafi’s atrocity. How can they be victims of human trafficking?” The official’s seemingly reasonable reaction was triggered ... Read more
FM faces agitating stranded Bangladeshis
Foreign minister Dipu Moni faced agitating Bangladesh nationals stranded at border points between Libya and Egypt for delay in relocating them from politically volatile and strife-torn Libya on Sunday, according to diplomatic sources. They criticized the government for its lukewarm attitude in repatriating people stranded in
Bodies of four evacuees reach Dhaka
The bodies of four Bangladeshi expatriates, three of whom had died while being evacuated from the strife-torn Libya, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital on late Wednesday and Thursday night, airport officials said. The bodies of three evacuees, who had drowned in the Mediterranean as they jumped off the
No plan yet to evacuate Bangladeshis still in Libya: foreign secy
The government is yet to take a plan for the evacuating Bangladeshis still in Libya where the situation is getting bad to worse by the day with the rebels seeking change fighting fiercely against the supporters of the 42-year old ruling regime. ‘We still have no evacuation plan to bring back all the Bangladesh citizens ... Read more
Biman to fly in evacuees
Libya returnees demand compensation Biman Bangladesh is going to fly home the Bangladeshis stranded at Egypt borders with Libya. “From March 13, Biman will operate five flights a week till the repatriation finishes,” Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Quader yesterday told The Daily Star over the phone. The flights will pick the Bangladeshis from ... Read more
Over 7,000 to come home in 5 days
Bangladeshis Fled From Libya Over 7,000 to come home in 5 days More than 7,000 Bangladeshis, who fled to Egypt and Tunisia to escape the deadly conflict in Libya, will come home in the next five days. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is facilitating the repatriation in 24 charter flights. Briefing the reporters, Foreign ... Read more
3 Bangladeshis fleeing Libya drown in Greek waters
47 jump ship, 14 missing, 3,994 return home Three Bangladesh nationals evacuated from Libya drowned in Greek waters on Saturday night while trying to swim to shore from a ship moored at Hania Port of Crete Island, according to the foreign ministry. ‘After berthing at Hania Port, some 47 jumped ship and three of them ... Read more
Trapped Bangladeshis: Two die after crossing border
Govt urges IOM for more flights Two Bangladeshis died on Friday of heart attack in Tunisia and Egypt where they had taken shelter from the violence in Libya. Of the two, Selim Chowdhury of Noakhali sadar breathed his last in Tunisia and Jahangir Afrad of Narsingdi in Egypt, Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes said briefing journalists ... Read more
Miseries mount on borders
Thousands of Bangladeshi workers in the Egyptian and Tunisian border of the trouble-hit Libya are facing serious crisis with no food, no shelter, and no help. Till yesterday 4:00pm, a total of 3,491 Bangladeshis returned to the country from Libya, while around 27,000 are yet to return home
Over 24,000 Bangladeshis move to safety
Await evacuation from Libya About half of the Bangladesh nationals stranded in trouble-torn Libya are in the process of evacuation on security grounds, foreign minister Dipu Moni said Friday. ‘Those who want to stay back in Libya in general and in Tripoli in particular, should be careful about their security,’ she said, adding, ‘It might ... Read more
Border wait gets longer
When thousands of Bangladeshis are crowding the Tunisian and Egyptian borders to escape the Libyan conflict, and international agencies are struggling for evacuation, the Bangladesh government is still “assessing its capacity” to bring the Bangladeshis home. Ever since the violent conflict began in mid-February in the North African country to oust its
Waiting in agony and love
A sexagenarian was standing at the security barrier outside the arrival lounge at Hazrat Shahjajal International Airport on Thursday. Whenever any man came out from inside, his eyes was darting towards his face and then his face was breaking into a mask of disappointment, anxiety, fear, and extreme tiredness. He is Kazi Fazlu, a dealer ... Read more
8,000 out on Libya borders
348 arrive on IOM-arranged flight, 36 others fly in on their own Around 8,000 Bangladeshis who could get evacuated troubled Libya are now languishing at the Egyptian and Tunisian borders with little food and water coupled with extreme night chill, only to get back home. The aggrieved evacuees said the Bangladesh government has not done ... Read more
Survived, they tell of horrors
He was hungry and tired. Still, he refused the lunch provided by government officials at the airport yesterday. “When I survived without rice for over the last two weeks, I will not die to reach home,” said Sajeeb, who arrived at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Libya yesterday
No food, water for Bangladeshis stranded on Libyan borders
527 expected to return today Several thousand Bangladesh nationals stranded on the borders of trouble-torn Libya and awaiting evacuation, ‘are exhausted and in urgent need of food, water and shelter’, according to the UN International Organization for Migration. At least 527 Bangladesh nationals, who have fled from violence in Libya, are scheduled to
101 fly in first from Libya
Recruiters shift hundreds of Bangladeshis to bordering countries; govt rules out wholesale evacuation A group of 101 Bangladeshi nationals returned from Libya via Istanbul yesterday afternoon with another 1,000 expected to arrive by next two or three days. And some 8,867 Bangladeshis, now stationed in different countries bordering Libya, are in the process to be ... Read more
Bangladesh mission looted in Tripoli
An armed gang last night looted valuables from the Bangladesh High Commission in Libyan capital Tripoli. They also abducted two women from just outside the high commission premises. “A group of miscreants carrying heavy arms and ammunition suddenly attacked the high commission and looted valuables from there,” an eyewitness told The Daily Star early
No massive evacuation now: minister
Expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said on Sunday that the situation in Libya at the moment did not call for a massive evacuation of Bangladesh nationals trapped in the trouble-torn north African country. The government has, however, made all preparations for evacuation of Bangladeshis from