Bangladeshis are not allowed to go to Libya as the law and order situation in the North African country is not safe for them, state minister for foreign affairs M Shahriar Alam said on Sunday.
‘The government currently is not allowing Bangladeshi migrants to go to North African country Libya due to security reasons,’ the state minister said while addressing a seminar in the capital city.
Manusher Jonno Foundation organised the seminar on ‘Irregular Labour Migration in Bangladesh: Crises and Ways forward’ at the Cirdap Auditorium with its executive director Shaheen Anam in the chair. Senior secretary to the Home Ministry, Mozammel Haque Khan, also spoke on the issue.
The state minister told the seminar that the government is always aware about the safety and security of the migrant workers and the people going abroad.
Despite the awareness, many jobseekers became victim of fraudulent activities after going abroad through illegal channels, Shahriar said, adding that legal actions had also been taken against the people who were involved in such criminal activities.
Referring to the steps taken against the criminals who were involved in confining Bangladeshi workers and tortured them to realise ransoms in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, Shahriar said the government is committed to ensure safety and security of migrant workers.
‘Some incidents of irregular migration have been taking place despite the government and civil society’s interventions in creating awareness about the issue,’ Mozammel Haque Khan said.
Regarding bringing back the migrants in case of their safety and security concern, he said the government always takes necessary steps to bring them back, but sometimes it takes time to verify their identify.
Salim Ahmed Parvez and Sarowat Binte Islam presented a keynote paper on the topic of the seminar.
According to them, around 67.0 per cent Bangladeshis migrated through legal channels, while more than 33 per cent migrated through illegal channels.
The irregular migrations take place mainly for poverty and high migration costs, they mentioned.
source: new age
