16 Bangladeshis Die in Mideast, Russia: Minister

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury on Thursday said 16 Bangladeshis have died in separate incidents linked to conflict abroad, including 12 in the Middle East and four in Russia, while the government continues efforts to repatriate affected nationals and expand overseas employment opportunities.

Speaking during the question-answer session in Parliament, the minister said 12 Bangladeshis lost their lives in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

According to him, the victims included five in Lebanon, three in Saudi Arabia, two in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Iraq and Bahrain.

He said the government has repatriated 186 Bangladeshis, including 12 women and eight children, from Iran with financial assistance from the Wage Earners' Welfare Board.

Of the 12 deceased, one was buried in the country where the death occurred, while the bodies of nine others were returned to Bangladesh. The families of the repatriated victims received Tk 35,000 to cover burial expenses and an additional Tk 50,000 as a special grant.

The minister also informed Parliament that four of the 30 Bangladeshi workers who had travelled to Russia under employment contracts died after reportedly being forced into war-related activities.

He said the workers left for Russia on April 24 through three recruiting agencies after obtaining clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

After receiving reports that the workers were being compelled to undergo military training and deployed to the battlefield, the government instructed the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow on June 15 to take diplomatic steps to secure their rescue and repatriation.

Ariful expressed hope that the remaining workers would be brought back through continued engagement with the Russian authorities.

On labour migration, the minister said Bangladesh and Malaysia held senior-level bilateral discussions in April to facilitate the resumption of worker recruitment.

He added that the government is also working to diversify overseas employment destinations in response to instability in the Middle East by reopening the Malaysian labour market and expanding opportunities in Thailand, South Korea and Japan.

According to the minister, the final draft of a labour recruitment agreement has already been sent to the Thai government.

He also said Bangladeshi missions abroad have been instructed to assess labour demand in their host countries and submit action plans to increase overseas employment opportunities.

Responding to another question, Ariful said BMET records show that 10.9 million Bangladeshis travelled to Middle Eastern countries for employment between 2004 and June 30 this year.

However, he noted that many have since returned home, making it difficult to determine the current number of Bangladeshi workers in the region due to the lack of a comprehensive database on returnees.

To improve data collection, BMET has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Special Branch of Police to facilitate information sharing on returning migrant workers.