Thirty-five Bangladeshi nationals returned to Dhaka from Europe on a special charter flight on Friday morning, October 23, according to airport and immigration police sources.
The flight, PVG 9445, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 8:15am, carrying 19 returnees from Italy, 10 from Greece and six from Cyprus.
Upon arrival, the returnees received emergency assistance, counselling and financial support for transportation to their respective homes through BRAC’s Migration Programme, with support from the Civil Aviation Security authorities and the expatriates’ welfare desk at the airport.
Representatives from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union were also present.
The returnees will receive further counselling and training before being provided with financial assistance under the Pratyasha-2 project, jointly funded by the European Union and BRAC.
Bangladesh signed standard operating procedure (SOP) agreements with European countries in 2017 to facilitate the repatriation of undocumented or irregular Bangladeshi migrants. Since then, around 5,000 Bangladeshis have returned to the country under the arrangements.
Cyprus, Italy, Romania and France have accounted for the largest numbers of returnees, according to the report.
Shariful Hasan, associate director of BRAC, said Italy, Greece and Germany had been among the main European countries from which Bangladeshis had returned in recent years.
He said BRAC provides returnees with emergency assistance at the airport, counselling and subsequent financial support to help them rebuild their lives.
The organisation is also conducting awareness campaigns across Bangladesh to discourage people from
undertaking risky journeys to Europe, he added.
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