Several Bangladesh nationals living in Lebanon reportedly remained missing while many others became injured as Israel continued attacks on the East Asian country that killed hundreds of people and compelled millions to flee their homes amid air strikes that were intensified since September 23.
The panicked migrants who left the high-risk zones and took shelter on roads, mosques, makeshift centres, and other open spaces were passing inhuman life amid the crisis for food and drinking water.
Stranded migrants complained that they were not getting any support from the Bangladesh embassy in Beirut though the embassy, in an emergency notice, asked them to contact over the phone.
Shahriar Ashik Joy, son-in-law of a Lebanon migrant Razia Sultana, said that Razia remained missing since Friday.
He said that Razia, a resident of Hularhat in Pirojpur, migrated from Bangladesh 20 years ago and lastly lived in Dahieh.
鈥極n Friday morning, she talked to me but we could not reach her after that time. I heard from many that Dahieh area was demolished by airstrikes,鈥� he said and added that that they were not sure about what exactly happened to Razia.
He said that Delwar Hossain from Noakhali, now a hotel worker in the Navatia area in Beirut, also remained missing for the past seven days.
Emran Hossain Shovan, a Bangladeshi migrant in Lebanon, said that he had left the Dahieh area and taken shelter in a centre located five kilometres away from his place of living.
He said that his friend Shahab Uddin, who had been living near Beirut, also remained missing.
Md Firuz Dakua, another Bangladeshi migrant in Lebanon and the president of Probashi Odhikar Parishad in Lebanon, said that relatives of many migrants alleged that their relatives remained missing in Lebanon while some others sustained injuries in the strikes.
He said that at least five critically injured Bangladeshi workers were undergoing treatment at a local hospital though taking treatment in Lebanon was a challenging issue now.
Migrants said that Rehana Begum from Narsingdi and Abdul Mottalib from Feni were undergoing treatment at Hadat Central Hospital since they were injured in an attack on Friday.
Migrant workers said that there was no report of the death of Bangladeshi migrants so far.
They alleged that the embassy in Beirut remained uncaring about the humanitarian crisis of the migrants.
They, however, said that some humanitarian organisations and individuals came forward to help the affected people.
They demanded to the embassy to evaluate the situation like some other countries that had already relocated their workers to safe zones.
Neither the Bangladesh ambassador to Lebanon nor the first secretary (labour) there could be reached for comments over the telephone.
However, ambassador Javed Tanveer Khan in a video message on early Sunday asked Bangladeshi migrants to contact them over the embassy鈥檚 helpline and hotline numbers for any sort of help.
He said that the embassy informed the current situation to their Dhaka office and was trying to stand by the migrants.
He advised Bangladeshis staying there to stand by others and face the situation with courage and patience.
The south and east parts of Beirut are the most unrest areas and the authorities asked migrants to take shelter at safe zones.
The Bangladesh embassy in Beirut on Friday, in an emergency notice, advised the Bangladeshis in Lebanon to stay in safe areas.
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�.
The migrants, however, alleged that nobody in the embassy responded to their calls over the telephone.
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.
It is estimated that over one lakh people now work in Lebanon, mostly in garment factories, hotels, hospitals and households.
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.