Thirty eight Bangladeshi children stranded at a safe-home in West Bengal, India, yesterday urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take measures immediately so that they can come back home.

Most of them have been stuck at government safe-home Shubhayon at Balurghat in south Dinajpur district of West Bengal for one and a half years or two without committing any crime, they said in a joint letter. 

They entered India being lured by brokers who promised them jobs while some went to visit the country.

“As we entered India without passport, we were detained by the BSF [Border Security Force] or police and were sent to Shubhayon home,” the children said in the letter.

They issued the letter with the help of the Society for Participatory Action and Reflection (SPAR), a wing of Child Line, an Indian voluntary organisation, yesterday.

“It is a matter of great regret that we are passing miserable life away from parents and families…. Our mental condition is very bad,” the children said in the letter addressed to the prime minister of Bangladesh.

“If we get your [PM] support, we will be able to go back to our homeland and to our parents. Only you [PM] can rescue us from a miserable life.

“We will be grateful, if you [PM] take necessary measures for our repatriation,” the children said in the letter. 

Talking to The Daily Star, Dawa Dorjey Sherpa, superintendent of Shubhayon, said a list of the stranded children had already been sent to different offices of the state government for taking measures necessary to send them back to Bangladesh.

“We prepared the list of 38 children a few days ago. But nine more children have been brought to our safe-home till today [August-1],” Sherpa told The Daily Star.

Neither Bangladesh nor India took any step for their repatriation from India, despite repeated requests to the state government, said SPAR chief Suraj Das.

The SPAR has also communicated the matter to Bangladeshi voluntary organisation Alokito Simanto to take measures in this regard, he added.