BD VOICE ALL ALWAYS AIMING TO REVEAL THE TRUTH!
27 Bangladeshi workers have been tortured in Libya in the hope of changing their fate. The victims have not been receiving their salaries and bonuses for a long time. This is severely disrupting their food and medical services. They are also not allowed to communicate with the country. They are also victims of physical and mental torture.
On Thursday (February 6) night, the victims of the torture secretly sent a video message to the Kalbela reporter, pleading for their lives. They are all working in a construction company in the Misrata area of Tripoli, the capital of Libya.
In the video message, the victims said that they are not being given food and bonuses and are being tortured in various ways. The recruiting agency and the employer have cheated them. So that the head of the Bangladesh government can rescue them.
It is learned that the 27 victims of detention and torture in Libya are residents of Habiganj, Dinajpur, Tangail, Rajbari, Kushtia, Naogaon, Bogra, Narayanganj, Mymensingh, Gazipur, Jhenaidah and other districts. Among them, Alamin Mia, a resident of Tekarghat village of Gazipur UP in Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj, has filed a written application with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding the release of all of them.
Victim Alamin told Kalbela that the recruiting agency and employer cheated and sold them. They were sent to Libya with fake visas. They are at the crossroads of life and death. They are not getting legal assistance from the Bangladesh Embassy.
When contacted about the victim workers, Libyan Ambassador Major General Abul Hasnat Muhammad Khairul Bashar told Kalbela that we are in regular contact with those workers. Discussions are underway at the government level to fulfill their demands. Notes have been repeatedly sent to the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh. If the Foreign Ministry takes urgent initiatives, it will be possible to send them back to their country quickly.
Malika Begum, Deputy Assistant Director of the Wage Earnest Board of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Employment Affairs, said that in such incidents, we send a letter to the embassy of that country. They are the ones who carry out the rescue activities. However, we will look into this matter very seriously.
Meanwhile, the relatives of the victims demanded that the irresponsible behavior of the employers and recruiting agencies who went to Libya with valid visas and passports and the issue of fake visas be investigated properly and the victims be sent back to their country immediately.
A recent study by the non-governmental organization BRAC has revealed that people aged 26 to 40 are trying to enter Europe the most. Among them, people aged 31 to 35 are the most. Most of them are from Madaripur, Shariatpur, Faridpur, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Munshiganj, Noakhali, Brahmanbaria, and Comilla areas. The report was prepared by analyzing the information provided by 557 Bangladeshis who returned from Libya.
The study also revealed that local brokers lured the families of 60 percent of the victims with good jobs. But 89 percent did not get a job or any work. On the contrary, they were exposed to various risks.
Analyzing the travel routes, it was found that most people went from Dhaka to Libya via Dubai-Egypt. In addition, from Dhaka to Libya via Istanbul-Dubai, from Dhaka to Libya via Qatar, from Dhaka to Libya via Dubai-Syria, and a few people went directly to Libya from Dhaka.
The report showed that 63 percent were imprisoned on the way to Libya in this way. 93 percent of the prisoners were imprisoned in camps. Seventy-nine percent of the detainees were subjected to physical abuse. In addition, 68 percent lost their freedom of movement after arriving in Libya. 54 percent said they never received three meals a day. At least 22 percent received only one meal a day.
Bangladesh is among the top 10 countries whose citizens have made the journey across the Mediterranean to Europe over the past decade. Boats often capsize while crossing the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.
