 |
Restricted
by their alien status and unable to earn
their livelihoods, Rohingya refugees
in Cox’s Bazar
have been reduced to living on the streets and
begging from
passing vehicles. ABDUL AZIZ
|
Tired of finding
nothing to do to earn their livelihoods, the Rohingyas, who fled to Bangladesh
to escape atrocities by their government in Rakhaine state of Myanmar, are now
begging on the streets of Cox’s Bazar
On Friday, during a
visit to the district, the Dhaka Tribune correspondent found them begging,
sitting in groups, on both sides of roads near the Kutupalong refugee camp,
some 45km away from Cox’s Bazar town.
When passengers get
off vehicles, the refugees surround them in the hope of alms. They even beg for
money and food intercepting the running vehicles.
Rashida Khatun, 60,
Safiqua Khatun, 60, Marium Begum, 75, and Zohura Begum, 45, who fled Myanmar’s
Mongdu province after the atrocities had erupted in October last year, are
among the starving refugees undergoing even more sufferings since they have to
pay Tk300-500 a month for their rented shanties outside the cramped camp.
The Kutupalong camp
apart, there are many unregistered camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas, where
32,000 registered refugees managed to find refuge, while some 400,000
unregistered refugees are spread out all over the district.
Around 70,000 of
them have meanwhile taken shelter in squalid shanties in the areas, according
to a UN report.
Whatever small
amounts of food they could bring with them when escaping persecution in their
own country, have already exhausted. The food provided by international
humanitarian organisations does not meet their demands, leading many to starve,
they told the Dhaka Tribune.
When describing the
horrors of persecution, Syed Hossain from Mongdu said he saw in dismay his
daughter violated and two brothers tortured brutally by the Myanmar army.
“I along with my
family members fled to Bangladesh being unable to bear the torture any more,”
the 50-year-old man added.
Hossain echoed
hundreds of other victims who said they witnessed assaults against the Rohingya
Muslims.
Abu Taher, Munaf and
Salim Ullah, all aged between eight and 10, said they lost their fathers and/or
mothers in the mass killing and that saw the army personnel reduce their houses
to rubble.
However, locals
alleged that the refugees in the camps do not abide by laws and regulations,
and they move around according to their whims.
Disregarding the
bars on their movement, some even travel beyond the district, with law
enforcers not taking a hard line against them on humanitarian grounds, they
said.
Free movement of
refugees and asylum seekers is prohibited under international law.
When contacted,
Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua said: “As per the international law, the
movement of refugees outside their designated camps is not allowed, as there is
a risk of falling prey to further assaults by locals.”
Describing the
deficient handling of the refugee camps, Hamidul Haque Chowdhury, president of
the Rohingya Refugee Prevention and Repatriation Action Committee in Ukhiya
upazila, said: “Someday the situation will get even worse, and there will be
none to lend their generous hands to help them out.
“Finding nothing to
do to make their ends meet, they might commit crimes like robbery and mugging.
The number of thieves and looters in the area has already increased.”
Hamidul, also the
president of the Ukhiya upazila unit Awami League, suggested the Bangladesh
government with the help of the international community should take immediate
measures to send them back home in Myanmar.
Obaidul on shifting
Rohingyas
Road Transport and
Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday said as Cox’s Bazar is a small place
and also a tourist town, the Rohingyas would be rehabilitated to Thengar Char
in Hatiya on humanitarian grounds.
The decision was
made to protect the beach town’s natural beauty and ensure the security of
tourists, he told reporters at Cox’s Bazar’s Kolatoli.
The government will
take necessary steps for their livelihood and education there until the Myanmar
government takes them back, Obaidul said.