Panic grips Bangladesh nationals living in Lebanon as Israel continued attacks on the country that killed hundreds of people and compelled millions to flee their homes amid air strikes that were intensified since September 23.
Bangladeshi migrants, mostly workers, who became stranded in Lebanon said that there was no report of deaths among the Bangladeshis but several were injured and many fled the high risk conflict zones, while the United Kingdom issued an urgent call for all British nationals in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as possible.
It is estimated that over one lakh people now work in Lebanon, mostly in garment factories, hotels, hospitals and households.
The Bangladesh embassy in Beirut on Friday, in an emergency notice, advised the Bangladeshis in Lebanon to stay in safe areas.
The notice said that the pattern of attacks seemed that Dahieh and its adjacent areas were the targets of attacks by Israel.
鈥業n the given situation, the Bangladeshis who are still living in Dahieh or adjacent areas are advised to leave the area for northern Beirut or any other safe area,鈥� the notice said.
The embassy opened emergency phone numbers and asked Bangladeshi migrants to call for support. The phone numbers are 71217139 (embassy鈥檚 front desk), 70635278 (hotline), 81744207 (helpline). They were also asked to communicate through the Beirut mission鈥檚 email 鈥榤ailto:[email protected]鈥�.
Neither the Bangladesh ambassador to Lebanon and nor the first secretary (labour) there could be reached for comments over the telephone.
Asked whether Bangladesh would evacuate its citizens from Lebanon as some other countries had already taken such moves in the wake of Israeli attacks, foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain in the past week said that they had no such plan at that moment.
He, however, said that they were watching the developing situation as there was a small Bangladeshi community in the West Asian country.
Emran Hossain Shovan, a Bangladeshi migrant in Lebanon, said that he had left the Dahieh area and taken shelter in a centre located five kilometre away from his place of living.
鈥榃e are 70 or 80 Bangladeshis among 2,000 people who have taken shelter here. We have been facing food and drinking water crisis,鈥� he said and urged interference from the Bangladesh government.
He said that several people remained missing and many became injured due to the indiscriminate air strikes by Israel.
According to the media reports, at least 700 people, including dozens of children, were killed since Israel intensified a bombing campaign in Lebanon on September 23.
According to Bangladesh鈥檚 Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training statistics, at least 267,364 Bangladeshis migrated to the country since 2002. Of them, 61,786 migrated since 2015.
Migrants estimated that over one lakh people were now working in the West Asian country.