Saudi returnees continue demo for tickets, lay siege to expatriate ministry

Many Saudi returnees -- stranded in the country for over seven months due to the pandemic – demonstrated for the third consecutive day today in Dhaka, demanding government intervention to ensure their return to the Gulf country before their visas expire on September 30.

At least 35,000 Bangladeshi expatriate workers will lose their jobs in Saudi Arabia if they fail to return to their workplaces within September 30.

Agitated expatriate workers today laid siege to the expatriate welfare ministry in the capital's Eskaton area around 11:00am and also took to the street.

A delegation of expatriate workers and senior officials of the ministry are scheduled to hold a meeting in the afternoon to discuss how to resolve the issue.

Aminul Islam -- a Saudi returnee who came to Bangladesh in February, taking leave from work --said their main demand is diplomatic measures from the government so that the Saudi authorities extend the validity of their visas for several months, facilitating their return to the kingdom.

He said many expatriates returned to Bangladesh with return tickets.

"We want to return to Saudi Arabia with the[return] tickets and without paying any additional charges," he said.

Failing to get tickets, several thousand migrant workershave been demonstrating for the last three days in front of the Saudi Airlines office at the city's Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.

Around 10,000 Bangladeshi expatriate workers gathered yesterday in front of the office,demanding new tickets or re-issuance of their return tickets.

Home to more than 22 lakh Bangladeshis, Saudi Arabia is the prime destination of Bangladeshi migrant workers and the biggest remittance-generating country for Bangladesh.

Many Bangladeshi expatriates came to the country on vacation from Saudi Arabia before the closure of flights amid the pandemic.

They remained stranded as only few chartered and specially arranged flights were operated between the two countries amid the pandemic.

The Bangladesh government suspended regular flight operations with all countries, except China, from mid-March to contain Covid-19 spread.

Bangladesh yesterday requested the Saudi government to extend the tenure of Iqama of a huge number of stranded Bangladeshi expatriates for three months.