Five stranded workers return from Iraq

Five Bangladeshi migrant workers soon after returning from war-torn Iraq yesterday submitted a written complaint to National Human Rights Commission against a Bangladeshi recruiting agency, demanding compensations.

Career Overseas Ltd in May 2014 sent 180 migrants including the five -- Jahurul Islam of Sirajganj, Shah Jamal of Bogra, Nur Alam and Mohibul of Noakhali, and Abdul Baten of Narsingdi -- promising jobs at Abu Torab Housing Project in Najaf. But the Iraqi company failed to run the project due to clashes among different groups in the Middle Eastern country.

With no work, the Bangladeshi migrants were forced to stay in the company's labour camp for over seven months and were also beaten there, according to some migrants, whenever they wanted to return home.

Rights Jessore, a human rights organisation, contacted by the migrants, brought the issue before the media and demanded that the agency be involved in bringing them back.

But Career Overseas Ltd and the Bangladeshi embassy in Baghdad refused to do so and instead the company arranged jobs for all the migrants at Al Ayadi Group, another Iraqi construction company in Baghdad, in last November.

Despite unwillingness, a section of migrant workers including the five had to join the job in January as the agency and the company gave them two options -- either to work or to go back to Bangladesh at their own expenses.

ABM Badrul Amin, managing director of Career Overseas Ltd, said, "We had arranged jobs for all the workers with a handsome salary ranging from $400 to $500 per month. Now, some workers want to return home for personal reasons." The returnees also alleged that they were not given full salaries since January and had to return at own expenses.