Bangladeshis in Ukraine: Looking for ways to border

A curfew was in force between 11:00pm Thursday and 6:00am yesterday (Ukraine local time) in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa as there were threats of attacks from the Russian forces. An eerie calm reigned over the city, with its residents staying indoors.

Things were not looking good for Bangladeshi medical student Rizve Hasan and his four flat mates in a 17-storey building in Odessa. They were unnerved by security issues and had almost no sleep for the night.

"Around 4:00am, there was a city alert, meaning we all had to go to the basement of the building for safety," Rizve told this correspondent over the phone yesterday.

He said they all frantically rushed to the basement and spent nearly two hours. It was really quite frightening.

"But finally another security alert was issued that meant there were no threats of attacks. We then returned to our flat," said Rizve, an MBBS final year student at the Odessa National Medical University.

He said there were some 500 Bangladeshis in Odessa and many of them already started moving towards Polish borders.

The student said he was also trying to rent a car or get a vehicle so he could travel to a Polish border as the European country opened border for Bangladeshis.

The Bangladesh embassy in Poland contacted Rizve yesterday and he joined the embassy's WhatsApp group.

"The embassy said it would try to arrange my trip to the Polish border. Alternatively, I may also arrange it. I am looking for a better option," he said.

According to Bangladeshi expatriates in Ukraine, there are some 2,000-2,500 Bangladeshis in the country and many of them were traveling to Polish and Romanian borders for safety.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh embassy in Poland's Warsaw, which also oversees the country's diplomatic relations with Ukraine, in a statement yesterday said Bangladeshi expatriates in Ukraine would be allowed to enter Poland without visas.

The statement said valid passport holders will be able to enter Poland. Those without a passport will be allowed to cross the border with a travel pass, which would be issued at the border. Every Bangladeshi should bring two copies of passport sized coloured photos with them.

A delegation of the embassy was rushing to Poland-Ukraine border at the soonest to assist Bangladeshis wishing to enter Poland from Ukraine, the statement added.

The embassy also advised the expatriate Bangladeshis living in remote areas of Ukraine to monitor the situation and leave for the border, as there will be extra traffic jams along the way due to isolated bomb blasts inside Ukraine and shortage of fuel.

In another development, the Romanian government has declared that it will allow Bangladeshis, now stranded in Ukraine, in and they can stay for two days each.

"Within that period, the Bangladesh embassy in Bucharest will arrange their repatriation to Bangladesh," State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said in a post on his verified Facebook page yesterday.

The Bangladesh embassy in Warsaw has advised the Bangladeshis living in South and South-western regions of Ukraine to move towards the Romanian border.

Sultana Laila Hossain, Bangladesh ambassador to Poland, said they will arrange accommodation for the Bangladeshis on an urgent basis.

Based on the situation, the expatriates can be evacuated from Poland to Bangladesh or they can go back to Ukraine if the situation improves, she told The Daily Star.

She said she was in talks with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Ukraine so that the Bangladeshis, who were in detention centers for overstaying visas, can be repatriated by the IOM.

"We are also in contact with the Ukrainian authorities to make this happen," Sultana said.