October 2, 2024
DHAKA – The Bangladesh embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, has been temporarily shifted to a new address amid Israeli attacks on the Middle Eastern country, and is discussing possible evacuation of Bangladeshi migrants with IOM, Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain said today.
“Our mission has come under a warzone. So, we have shifted our embassy office temporarily to a different location, which is less dangerous. So, all expatriates have been asked to reach out to the new address of the mission for their services,” he said in response to a question from The Daily Star during a media briefing at the foreign ministry.
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces launched new air raids on the Lebanese capital today as a senior White House official warned that the US has indications Iran is preparing to launch an attack on Israel.
Earlier, Israel said its troops entered southern Lebanon for what it called a “limited” raid but Hezbollah denied they crossed into the territory.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati says Lebanon faces “one of the most dangerous phases of its history”.
Some 100,000 people have fled to Syria from Lebanon due to Israeli air strikes, a figure that has doubled in two days, the United Nations’ refugee head said yesterday.
According to a foreign ministry official, there are about 90,000 Bangladeshi migrants in Lebanon, and some 2,000 were jobless. There were discussions on how to provide shelter to these migrants, but no decision taken has yet been taken.
Asked about this, Touhid said the Bangladesh mission in Lebanon does not have the addresses of the migrants, but have started hotlines for the migrants to call and seek assistance.
On the possibility of any evacuation of Bangladeshi migrants, mostly female domestic workers, the foreign adviser said the government is discussing the issue with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which supports migrants in such situations.
Those who are willing will be evacuated, but many don’t want to return because of the large amount of money they spent to get to the Middle Eastern nation.
“So, we are still observing the situation. As of now, we don’t have any reports of casualties.”
On sheltering the migrants in trouble, Touhid said, “I don’t know. If necessary, we will. We sought money from the expatriates’ welfare ministry so that expatriates can be provided shelter. The Bangladeshi community in Lebanon can also provide support in such a situation.”