Dhaka Tribune (25/11/2017)
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| The Rohingya influx won’t be easy on the government’s pockets | |
According to a statement of Press Information Department
(PID), the government has already registered more than 600,000 Rohingyas, to
help ease the repatriation process.
It has been three months since the recent refugee crisis
started in Bangladesh, as an unprecedented number of displaced Rohingyas began
a mass exodus from northern Rakhine state, following a campaign of terror
perpetrated by the Myanmar Army.
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To get an in-depth view of the current state of the
refugee crisis, a Dhaka Tribune correspondent visited the Rohingya camps
located in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas of Cox’s Bazar district.
More than a hundred Rohingya men and women, who fled
Myanmar after August 25 this year, were asked their opinion about returning to
their homeland.
A majority of the refugees stated that they are ready to
go home only if the Myanmar government ensures their basic human rights and
ethnic identity.
Kalimuddin, 30, who left his home village in Maungdaw
Township day after Eid-ul-Azha [August 27], became emotional while describing
the life he had in Myanmar.
“I took my wife and five children, and fled the
oppression of Myanmar army and Moghs. We made a life here at Jamtoli Camp but
we miss our homeland dearly,” he said.
Kalimuddin firmly added that Myanmar is his country and
he wants to go back but the Rohingya people’s civic rights must be ensured
first.
Mohib Ullah, a sexagenarian hailing from Chindiprang area
of Buthidaung, said: “Bangladesh is not our country and we are Rohingya not
Bangali. We are Myanmar nationals and we have the right live in Rakhine despite
Myanmar government’s repeated claims that we do not belong there.
“We just want to preserve our ethnic identity and our
rights,” he added.
Anwar Hossain, who arrived in the camp from Bolibazar
area under Maungdaw Township, echoed the same.
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“If our Hukumat [government] agrees to accept us as
Myanmar nationals and allow us to preserve our identities as Rohingya, then I
will begin my journey back immediately, and will not seek compensation for the
damages caused in the recent violence,” Anwar, who claimed to be a landlord in
his locality, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Most of the youths living in the Kutupalong Rohingya camp
also expressed their wish to return home.
However, Babul Miah, 55, who fled from Buthidaung’s
Sherangdaung area following the unrest, is a bit pessimistic about the whole
situation.
“We demand that our government recognize us as Myanmar
nationals. Once we achieve this, obtaining other civic rights would be a bit
easier,” he said.
The teenagers living in the camp, hailing mostly from
Kinisi area of Buthidaung, said they are happy because they get food and
shelter here, but they feel homesick and are eagerly waiting to return home.
According to the Refugee Relief and Repatriation
Commission, more than 631,500 displaced Rohingya entered Bangladesh in between
August 25 and November 24 following the recent spate of violence in northern
Rakhine state.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Senior Emergency Coordinator Louise Aubin, leading the current emergency
response in Cox’s Bazar, recently stated that the Rohingya people have become
distrustful of the Myanmar government following the violence in Rakhine state,
and they are reluctant to go back home because of this distrust.
According to Aubin, this is one of the major reasons for
the continuing refugee influx in Bangladesh.
Human Rights Watch, on the basis of satellite images,
revealed that at least 288 villages were partially or completely burned in
northern Rakhine State since August 25.
The Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in
the world. Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens and forces them
to live in camps under apartheid-like conditions.
Even before the recent influx began, several thousands of
Rohingyas were already living in Bangladesh since 1991.
According to a statement of Press Information Department
(PID), the government has already registered more than 600,000 Rohingyas, to
help ease the repatriation process.