Bangladesh says its consulate officials are working to locate and facilitate the return of migrants sheltered at camps in neighboring countries as well as those still stranded at sea.

“We will bring back our citizens, stranded in the sea and abroad, as soon as possible,” Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told reporters in the capital, Dhaka, on Tuesday, adding that it may take about one month to complete the process.

It is estimated that about 700 Bangladeshis, who left their country for better working conditions abroad, are stationed in camps in Malaysia.

Bangladesh has been under fire for turning a blind eye to the situation of its migrants fleeing on boats in usually dangerous conditions.

From insulting migrants to wanting them back

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused the boat migrants of being “mentally sick” and tarnishing the country’s reputation.

The Bangladeshi premier said last month that there was “sufficient work for them (migrants) in Bangladesh (and) still they are leaving the country in such disastrous ways.”

The Tuesday announcement about efforts to bring the migrants back is most likely an attempt to alleviate the international concerns that have recently been on the rise about the migrants and their woeful conditions in South Asia.

In late May, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged South Asian countries to take action and shelter the Rohingyas from Myanmar and the Bangladeshi migrants.

Migrants form Bangladesh and Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority often attempt perilous boat journeys to reach the coasts of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

According to the United Nations, since 2014, more than 88,000 people have left countries in the Bay of Bengal region via boats operated by smugglers.

MRA/HSN/HJL