Finally Bangladeshis have to make their own way out of Libya
Dr. Shamimul Moula, Ph.D. (Scoop)
27 February, DHAKA: Labour, Employment and Expatriate Welfare Minister Engineer Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain urged the stranded Bangladeshi nationals in Libya to leave the troubled country on their own initiative at his final disposal. However in last few days, Government was continuously telling that it was arranging safe passages for Bangladeshis staying and working in Libya. It is surprising till date the Bangladesh Government couldn’t precisely mention the number of the Bangladeshis working and staying in Libya. One of the reasons might be that, thousands of illegal Bangladeshis are not calculated. There is a general idea that about 50,000-60,000 Bangladeshis are still encaged within Libya, most of which have been working as labors over there. Whenever such vast numbers of Bangladeshis are still trapped at Libya, Bangladesh Government perhaps is trying to message Bangladeshis few diversified facts as follows:
i) If in “safe” state, no need to come back as to go again it will be costly and troublesome. Again Bangladesh Government might think that the trouble of Libya will be over as quickly as it was in Egypt (really?), so for few days or week, Bangladeshis can manage to stay safe at Libya.
ii) It is again told by the Government in a very low tone that a Bangladesh Navy ship has been waiting near Lebanon in sea for possible evacuation of Bangladeshis! Here, it might be assumed that one or two Bangladeshi Navy ship might go near Lebanon for some type of routine exercise by some friendly nations before a month or so, however now that has been produced as the Government initiative to evacuate Bangladeshis at Libya! Again it is strange that whether the BD foreign ministry officials know the distance, obstacles and difficulties of Lebanese sea and Libyan coast?
Well if it is Bangladesh Navy vessels, no problem, then why don’t they move towards Eastern coast of Libya known as peaceful as other countries like US and India did?
iii) It was known from media first that Egypt and Tunisia was not permitting entry of Bangladeshis in their country from Libya and Bangladesh Government told that they are trying to achieve help from IOM and other UN organization. However now again it is known from media that both Tunisia and Egypt is giving entrance to the Bangladeshis! But the question is, in this crisis moment, everybody is going to IOM and other UN organizations, what else and up to what extents these organizations can do now for Bangladeshis in Libya?
Again it is mentioned by mainly the Government quarters that there are no problem in the eastern parts of Libya (so whether Bangladeshis can stay there?)
Among these series of confusing media statements, it was heard that 1100 Bangladeshis left Libya by air route (only a meager number of the total)!
After these number of confusing and contradictory statements at media, and repeated assurance by the Government to bring the Bangladeshis back from Libya in Government arrangement (as India, US and others sending ships, ferries and airplanes etc.) which were in fact highly intensified hope for the Libya stranded Bangladeshis and their relatives in Bangladesh and in some places, they even came to block highways in their demand to accelerate the process of evacuation.
At last, ending all confusion at least how to get out of Libya, Bangladesh Minister for Labour, Employment and Expatriate Welfare Engineer Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain finally gave the Bangladeshis in Libya the decision to pass out of Libya at their own and in the opinions of the experienced quarter, this is the best way to deal and should be told at a much earlier time to for avoiding the confusions and to make Government decisions clean and non-confusing to all the stakeholders!
The minister made the suggestion at a press conference after an inter-ministerial meeting at the secretariat Sunday, after refugee camps were set up on Libya`s frontiers.
He also informed of opening 10 centres in the frontier areas of Libya, Egypt and Tunisia in conjunction with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), but didn’t mention whether for the Bangladeshis alone or for all who is escaping from Libya. He also added. that should One who is in dire condition can contact the centers to leave the country, that means the Minister still hopes that the leaving of Libya might be not necessary at last as if they have to go again, it would require a lot of money again with other troubles. He advised the expatriates who are in secure places in Libya not to leave their stations. He assured that the government is monitoring the current situation of Libya. He declined to be panicked as Bangladesh would take necessary steps to evacuate them through water ways, but if “situation demands!”
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