Migrants’ woes mount in war-hit Lebanon

When Ripon Bepari sent his entire salary -- about $200 -- home in early February, he had no idea that the next month would be any different.

However, the latest Israeli offensive on Lebanon has caught the construction worker off guard and put his somewhat stable life into disarray. Ripon has not received his March salary and is unsure whether he still has the job that supports him and his elderly parents in Faridpur.

“Since the war broke out, construction work has stopped,” he told The Daily Star by phone from Dahi, a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut that has been under intense Israeli attack.

“Now I’m stuck here without work or money. I’m buying food on credit,” Ripon said, adding that five other Bangladeshis in his neighbourhood are facing the same situation.

On March 3, Israel’s military began striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after the Iranian-backed Shia group launched rockets and drones at the Israeli city of Haifa to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Since then, Israeli forces have intensified and expanded their attacks. UN agencies report massive displacement across the region, along with soaring food and fuel prices that threaten to deepen hunger and suffering among the most vulnerable.

According to Unicef, the attacks have forced nearly 800,000 people -- including around 200,000 children -- from their homes, in addition to tens of thousands already displaced in previous escalations.

Around 100,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers -- men and women -- are employed in Lebanon, according to sources.

Abdul Karim, president of the Lebanon Probashi Sramik Union, a group representing Bangladeshi migrants, said the latest fighting has already left an estimated 5,000 Bangladeshis in the country displaced and jobless.

“Every day, bombings target Hezbollah and Shia-dominated areas. Even civilian places where Shias live or move are also being targeted,” he said.

National and international NGOs are providing some assistance -- food, medicine and shelter -- but many people are still not receiving support, he added.

Karim said many migrants are fleeing their neighbourhoods for safer areas and staying away from work, while fear and uncertainty are spreading through migrant communities.

Fatima Akhter, who works as a peon at a company, has not gone to work for the past five days after bombings destroyed many buildings nearby.

“Many people are sleeping on the streets, hungry,” she said.

“I would like to go home now and return to Lebanon when the situation stabilises,” Fatima added, noting that no one knows when the war will end.

Anwar Hossain, first secretary (labour) at the Bangladesh embassy in Lebanon, said they are using social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp groups, along with community organisations, to urge migrants to move to safer locations.

“Our migrants who face risks are now living in groups and families in safer places. No Bangladeshi has been killed or injured so far,” he told this correspondent yesterday, adding that the embassy has not set up any shelter centres yet.

“We will do so in a worst-case scenario. At this moment, there is also no plan for evacuation. We will take that step, if necessary,” he said.

He added that the embassy is in contact with Lebanese and international NGOs to help ensure access to food, water and medicine to the workers. “We are urging our people to contact us in any emergency.”

Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, senior secretary of the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry, said the government is working to identify Bangladeshi workers stranded in conflict-hit areas abroad.

“Steps are being taken to determine the exact number of workers and to ensure food for them,” he said while speaking at a training event at the ministry yesterday.

He added that Bangladeshis currently in Bahrain cannot be brought back immediately because flights from Bahrain to Bangladesh remain suspended due to the ongoing Middle East crisis.