Over 100 Malaysian students are trapped in an ongoing protest now in Bangladesh, and there’s no way home for them.
In case you missed it, the students in Bangladesh are having protests on campus against the lack of job growth in the public sector. According to Al Jazeera, the protests have been ongoing for days, and military personnel were deployed to control the situation.
In a viral X post by Shakila (@markonahajis), she claims that her friends who are studying there had informed her that the situation had not gotten any better as of Saturday, July 20.
“Over 100 Malaysians are stranded there. They’ve sought help from the embassy to return to Malaysia, but the embassy initially said they ran out of funds to do so.”
The matter worsened when the phone reception grew weaker as days went by. According to Shakila, one of the Malaysian students managed to call her parents in Malaysia using free data, and she was planning to get in touch with another Malaysian student who made it home.
“It was hard to have a proper conversation. The reception was not stable at all, and I was frustrated.”
In a conversation with WORLD OF BUZZ, Shakila said that, as of Saturday (July 20), the safety of Malaysians in Bangladesh was still not guaranteed.
“With the protests getting more dangerous, the Embassy just reminded people to stay home.”
Thankfully, in her most recent update, Shakila told WORLD OF BUZZ today (July 22) that her friends have said that the situation has somewhat improved.
“The representative from the Embassy has met with my friends and made an arrangement to send the Malaysian students back home.”
Shakila added,
“Last night (July 19) around 9PM, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted all of the students’ parents and spread the news, so the situation is okay now. My friends are doing okay too,” Shakila explained to WORLD OF BUZZ.
BBC reported that about 100 people have lost their lives in the protests. In another report by Harian Metro, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reminded all Malaysians that they are doing their best to ensure the safety and homecoming of Malaysian students who are trapped there.
We wish the students nothing but a safe trip home so they can reunite with their families soon!