Libya returnees went there through illegal channels: Minister

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad has said that the Bangladeshis who returned from Libya on Thursday, went there through illegal channels. 

He made the comment at a press conference prior to joining a seminar on skills and awareness needed for overseas employment, held at Sylhet Circuit House on Thursday evening.

Earlier in the morning, a chartered flight carrying 152 Bangladeshis and the bodies of three workers from war-ravaged Libya landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 10:30am. Bangladeshis rescued from the Mediterranean were also among the returnees.

The minister said the government will provide them with the support needed for their rehabilitation. 

Each of the returnees will receive $1,400 from the International Organization for Migration, he said.  

Five Bangladeshis were killed and 10 severely injured in an air strike in Tripoli on November 18. 

Regarding a recent video in which 35 Bangladeshi female domestic workers were seen pleading to come back to the country, the minister said the Bangladesh High Commission in Riyadh is working on their repatriation.

The video footage went viral on social media on Wednesday, where the women were seen pleading with viewers and the government to help them return from Saudi Arabia as they can no longer take the 'torture' there.

Earlier, Husna Begum, another Bangladeshi domestic worker who pleaded to be brought back in a similar video, has returned home from Saudi Arabia.

In spite of such issues in a few countries, the minister said the international labour market is expanding for Bangladeshis. 

Japan will be recruiting skilled workers from Bangladesh in 15 categories until 2025, the minister added.   

People often fall into trouble while going abroad through illegal recruiting agencies, said the minister, adding that the government has already taken action against 166 such recruiting agencies for irregularities. 

Nazrul Islam, the additional secretary to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, Sylhet's Divisional Commissioner Md Mostafizur Rahman and Deputy Commissioner Kazi Emdadul Islam, among others, were present at the press conference.