Thirty-five Bangladeshis have been repatriated from Europe, including 19 from Italy, 10 from Greece and six from Cyprus.
According to immigration police and airport sources, they arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on a special chartered flight, PVG 9445, at 8:15am on Friday.
BRAC’s Migration Program provided the returnees with emergency assistance, counselling and financial support to help them reach their respective homes, with assistance from Civil Aviation Security and the Expatriate Welfare Desk at the airport. Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union were also present.
Shariful Hasan, associate director of Brac, told Dhaka Tribune that Italy, Greece and Germany have been among the European countries from which the organisation has received the highest numbers of returnees in recent years.
He said returnees receive emergency assistance and counselling at the airport, followed by financial support to help them rebuild their lives.
Airport sources said all 35 returnees received assistance under the Prottasha-2 project, jointly funded by the European Union and Brac. They will receive financial assistance after counselling and training.
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 arrangements, with most coming from Cyprus, Italy, Romania and France.
