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Thirty-five Bangladeshis have returned home from several European countries, including 19 from Italy, 10 from Greece and six from Cyprus.
They arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at around 8:15am on Friday aboard a special chartered flight, PVG 9445, according to police and airport sources.
BRAC’s Migration Programme, with support from Civil Aviation Security and the expatriates’ welfare desk at the airport, provided the returnees with emergency assistance, counselling and financial support to help them reach their respective homes. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union were also present.
Shariful Hasan, associate director of BRAC’s Migration Programme and Youth Platform, confirmed the return of the 35 Bangladeshis. He said all of them received assistance at the airport under the Prottasha-2 project, jointly funded by the European Union and BRAC.
Following counselling and training, the returnees will receive financial assistance to help them rebuild their lives, he added.
In 2017, the Bangladesh government signed standard operating procedure (SOP) agreements with European countries to facilitate the repatriation of undocumented or irregular Bangladeshi migrants.
Since then, around 5,000 Bangladeshis have returned under the arrangement, with significant numbers coming from Cyprus, Italy, Romania and France.
Shariful Hasan said Italy, Greece and Germany had been among the main countries from which Bangladeshis had returned in recent years.
Returnees receive emergency assistance at airports, counselling and subsequent financial support to help them reintegrate into society.
BRAC is also conducting awareness campaigns across the country to discourage people from taking risky routes to Europe, while European countries are taking initiatives to recruit Bangladeshi workers through legal channels.
