He said the US dollar went up in value amid the crisis. “Foreign workers are usually paid in US dollars, but now they are being paid in Lebanese Pound which is highly devalued,” he said.

In October, $100 equaled to 1.5 lakh Lebanese Pound, but now it is 2.2 lakh. The employers, however, were paying keeping with the previous rate, he said.

“So when the migrants try to send money to Bangladesh, they have to buy dollars at a higher rate. It means they are facing trouble in sending money,” he said.

Mamun also said many migrants were not getting salaries regularly. “In such a situation, they are not happy to work here anymore and want to leave for home.”

Asked, he said some 600 undocumented workers have returned to Bangladesh since October last year. He, however, could not tell the total number of Bangladeshis who went home since the crisis unfolded.

He said among the 1.6 lakh Bangladeshis in Lebanon, some 30,000 were undocumented workers. Most of those undocumented workers are female domestic workers, he said.

After the situation in Lebanon started worsening in September last year, the Bangladeshis became desperate to return home. They have been visiting the embassy premises every day for registration.