Libya returnees not getting priority in resending list

Shah Alam Nur The Libya returnees are not getting priority from the authorities in the resending process to that country despite the government's repeated assurances to do so. Bangladeshi workers who returned from war-torn Libya earlier this year are hardly getting chances to go back as the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Employment (MoEWE) is not giving priority to them in the resending process, many of the workers complained to the FE. Libya's interim authority the National Transitional Council (NTC) has started to reconstruct the country's damaged infrastructure after the fall of Gaddafi. The Libya-returnees even don't know whether they will receive call from the MoEWE or not. Jewel Rana from Kapasia of Gazipur who returned in March said that he wants to return to Libya but he doesn't know how to return. The authorities haven't phoned him yet. He said, "I was a waiter at a restaurant in Misrata; my salary was Tk 40,000 in Bangladesh currency. After my return from Libya now I'm unemployed and passing an uncertain life". Another returnee from Libya Md Kamal Hossain told the FE: "Libya's new government is giving an opportunity for working there again but I don't know what will happen to my fate as no one communicated with me." Mr Hossain used to work for Run Hill Construction Company-a Malaysian firm. He paid Tk 300,000 to go there taking loans from relatives. He could not pay back as he had to return from war-torn country after one year. "The government will take steps to ensure the return of the former Bangladeshi workers to that country, however, no-one will be allowed to go there illegally in anyway," Director General (DG) of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) Khorshed Alam Chowdhury told the FE.