The Bangladesh Embassy in Baghdad is ready to help repatriate Bangladeshis if they are willing to return home as the overall situation in troubled Iraq has remained unchanged, said the Bangladesh Ambassador to Iraq yesterday.
“There has been no improvement yet. So far, as we know, Bangladeshis are safe, and the Embassy will help if anybody wants to go back home,” Bangladesh envoy Maj Gen Rezanur Rahman Khan said.
He requested all the Bangladeshis to contact only the Embassy officials for any help to avert frauds as some dishonest people might take advantage of the crisis in the name of assistance that might put the Bangladeshi workers even in double trouble.
“We can send them back home only if they want to,” said Rezanur Rahman advising Bangladeshi workers even not to seek support from any Bangladeshi fellow when it comes to repatriation.
He said the Embassy has opened 24-hour helpline (00946-7816601805, 00964-7814238351) for the Bangladeshis living in Iraq. “Even my cell phone number is open for 24 hours.”
Responding to a question, the envoy said the passports of workers were usually kept in owners’ custody in Iraq. “Even though, we can arrange sending them back home if anybody doesn’t have passport.”
Describing the situation, Rezanur Rahman said they were all in danger indeed. “We request Bangladeshis in Iraq not to go outside their homes unless there is any emergency need.”
He also urged the media people to convey the message to Bangladeshis who are in touch with the media.
Belal, hailing from Habiganj, said there were 27 Bangladeshis in a group and they were living in an under-construction building while six others live close to them. “Save us. If we were not taken back home, we would have to die here.”
Kawser Ul Haque, another Bangladeshi hailed from Faridpur, said they had almost run out of their food stocks. “We have started taking one meal a day instead of three. We cannot go out. Everything is closed.”
Sheikh Sabina Rahman, wife of Belal, said they were trying to reach government officials through locals for bringing back her husband safely.
Bangladeshis from Bogra, Madaripur, Shariyatpur, Comilla, Jamalpur and Brahmanbaria are also there in the group who want to come back home.
Earlier this month, Sunni insurgents took control of Tikrit, Mosul and some other provinces in the Middle Eastern country. The troubled Bangladeshis said almost all Iraqis left the area as the rebels are dominating Tikrit, some 160 km away from the capital Baghdad.
