113 more Bangladeshis returned from Saudi on Thursday

On Thursday, 113 more Bangladeshi workers have returned home from Saudi Arabia.

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's expatriate welfare desk said so far 930 Bangladeshi workers have returned from the Middle East country in the first week of November.

Non-governmental development organisation Brac has been working with the expatriate desk of the airport providing food, water and assistance with reaching home safely to the returned workers.

According to the expatriate welfare desk of the airport, 20,692 Bangladeshis have returned home from Saudi Arabia in the last ten months of this year.

Kamal Hossain, a Kushtia resident who returned on November 7, said that he spent Tk7 lakh to go to Saudi Arabia a year and a half ago. He worked at a shop there.

"While returning from work, police arrested me. I called my recruiter Kafil, but he took no responsibility. As a result, I had to return to Bangladesh," said Kamal.

Babul, Zaheer, Rezaul and some others worked in a construction company in Saudi Arabia. They were wearing the company's uniform when they landed at the airport on bare feet and empty-handed.

Ahsan, of Kishoreganj, said that it was his day-labour father's dream that his son would go abroad and bring solvency to the family. He said he went to Saudi Arabia only four months ago with legal permission, but he also had to return home empty-handed.

"About 21,000 Bangladeshis have been repatriated from Saudi Arabia so far this year with 934 returning in the first week of this month," said Shariful Hassan, head of Brac Migration Programme.

"The stories of the returnees are similar. Almost everyone returned empty-handed. The recruiting agencies have to take responsibility so that no one comes back empty-handed like them. The embassy and the government should look into the issues. Especially, fraudulence should be stopped in the name of free visa," he added.