Italy won't allow Bangladeshi citizens in till December 31, due to the "previous behaviour" of Bangladeshi expatriates and fear of a possible second wave of Covid-19, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said today.
"There is no good news [regarding return of Bangladeshi expatriate workers in Italy]," he said while talking to reporters at the ministry.
The foreign minister said he tried to talk to his Italian counterpart on this issue but to no avail.
According to the minister, Bangladeshi expatriates are largely responsible for this situation as they had frequently violated the quarantine rules of the Italian government.
"Our expatriates are the problem. You know they don't abide by the law in Italy," he said.
The minister said 48 Bangladeshis who flew to Italy were suspected to be Covid-19 positive. Then they were asked to stay in 14-day mandatory quarantine in a hotel arranged by the Italian authority. But many of them didn't stay in quarantine.
Then the media picked up the issue, said the foreign ministry.
"Therefore, they said they won't receive any flight from Bangladesh. They deported many Bangladeshi passengers who went to Italy in two consecutive flights," said Momen.
The foreign minister said the Italian government asked for mandatory Covid-19 tests for all 30,000 Bangladeshi expatriates in Rome. But many Bangladeshis left the city to avoid the procedure which is very unfortunate.
"Now many people are entering Italy as the country has announced to regularise them. But due to the previous behaviour [of Bangladeshi expats] and fear of possible second wave of Covid-19, they are very much afraid," Momen said.
Referring to Italy-bound Bangladeshi migrant workers, the foreign minister said it would be better if they protest in front of the Italian mission in Dhaka.
"If they protest in front of the Italian mission, they will send information to their country that they [Bangladeshis] are trying to return to Italy," said the foreign minister.
"What can we do apart from requesting them? We cannot send them [Bangladeshi expatriates] forcefully to Italy," he also said.
Meanwhile, "Italy Help Centre", a platform of Italy-bound expatriate workers, today said the Italian ambassador has agreed to meet with a five-member delegation of stranded Bangladeshi workers on October 19 to talk about their return to Italy.
Hridoy Ahmed, an Italy-bound expatriate said there are at least 15,000 Bangladeshis stranded in the country who are waiting to return to their workplaces in Italy.
He also said they will demonstrate in front of the foreign ministry office from October 20 if the Italian ambassador does not take any effective measures regarding their return to Italy.
