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By Rahman Jahangir.
Dhaka, June 16:
A total of 393 Bengaldeshis have been paid compensation by their government after having to return home last . . .[restrict]year during the Libyan revolution. They were paid the equivalent of $250,000 which because of the exchange rate and low cost of living in Banghadesh is a small fortune — 20 million taka.
They were repatriated by the Bangladeshi government in cooperation with International Organization for Migration (IOM). Over 32,000 Bangladeshis returned to Bangladesh during last year’s revolution.
After repatriating them, the Bangladesh government took the initiative to provide them financial assistance in order to recoup with their economic losses.
Later, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment paid the returnees 50,000 taka each to respective bank accounts, in cooperation with IOM.
The financial assistance to the 393 returnees is not the first such payment. Other returnees have been similarly paid.
Manpower official Nesarul Haque told the Libya Herald on Saturday that the Gaibandha District Employment and Manpower Office realised that the returnees were in financial need and that it acted quickly, helping them after scrutinizing their documents and sending them on to the relevant government departments.
One of the recipients, Delwar Hossain, said he had received 50,000 taka from the ministry through its office at Gaibandha without any lobbying on his part. He expressed his gratitude to the officials of the local Employment and Manpower Office for helping him to get the money quickly.
Delwar said he recalled the hospitality and brotherly attitude of Libyans while he was employed there.
Joynal Abedin, Assistant Director of the office said that every day many of the returnees and their close relatives arrived asking whether the government would help them go to Libya again.
For the moment, however, Bangladesh has banned manpower exports to Libya.
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