28 Bangladeshis return from Thailand

17 February 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

The 28 Bangladeshis, detained along with some 200 Rohingyas from the sea by Thailand authorities over a year ago, returned home yesterday. "They arrived at the airport at 5:45pm today by a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines,” an official of Hazrat Shahjalal (R) International Airport told The Daily Star yesterday. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) gave them Tk 2,000 each so they could travel to their homes at Teknaf in Cox's Bazar, he said. A Thai charity has borne the airfare for the 28 Bangladeshis while IOM through its Bangkok and Dhaka offices have provided the logistic supports for their safe return. Thai coastguards detained them on their way to Malaysia by engine boats through Thai waters from Cox's Bazar in search of jobs in January last year. As the authorities got to know that some of the detainees were Bangladeshis, they approached Bangladesh mission in Bangkok, which then confirmed their identities through foreign office and home ministry in Dhaka, said Saida Muna Tasneem, director general for external publicity of the foreign ministry. An earlier investigation of The Daily Star found that a strong syndicate in Cox's Bazar promises poor Rohingyas and Bangladeshis lucrative jobs in Malaysia for cheap charges. The jobseekers start on engine boats from certain points of the beaches or islands in Cox's Bazar at night, especially during winter when the sea is comparatively calm. Some can arrive in Malaysia while some fail and get caught either by the Thai Navy or the Andaman Islands coastguards. Cases of starvation and deaths in the boats are also common. Those arriving in Malaysia also face detention or are extorted by the syndicate members in Malaysia for their undocumented status.