Entire world praises Bangladesh for playing host to over a million persecuted Rohingyas from Myanmar. But with its own huge population base and limited resources, Bangladesh’s capacity to accommodate more has now been put into a test. 

With each passing days as more and more Rohingyas are being made to leave India and Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh is now having to accept more refugees than this country ever thought of hosting. 

Over the last few months, around 1,300 Rohingya refugees have crossed the Bangladesh-India border into the country and taken shelter in the camps in Cox’s Bazar. The Saudi government is also deporting Rohingyas holding Bangladeshi passports.

From India, the refugees are crossing the border with the aid of traffickers. Many say they had been living in Jammu-Kashmir, New Delhi, Assam, Hyderabad and many other areas for five or six years.

A group of Rohingyas, including 17 children and six women, were moored for five days in the no-man’s land outside Brahmanbaria for from Friday evening, attempting to enter Bangladesh. They were eventually returned on Tuesday and put in jail custody in India.
Similarly the Saudi Arabia has recently deported 13 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh, accusing them of holding Bangladeshi passports illegally. The Saudi government has also rounded up 150 refugees with the plan to deport them. Many of these refugees had been staying in the country for 6-7 years.

For decades, Rohingyas fleeing persecution have taken shelter in the neighbouring countries. It is estimated that there are at least 40,000 refugees in India. In the last few months, many of them have been deported to Myanmar, and many others detained.

Rohingyas living in the camps said many of their friends and family had made their way into UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Australia, Malaysia, Canada and other countries with Bangladeshi passports. They also say if they are deported, they want to come back to Bangladesh as Myanmar is not safe for them yet.

Ukhiya Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Nikaruzzaman Chowdhury said: “For now we have put the Rohingyas coming from India at the transit camp next to Ukhiya TV Centre. We are not placing them in any camps. Later we will bring them together from the various camps in Teknaf and Ukhiya and arrange for shelter.”

Cox’s Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Md Abul Kalam said: “Starting this month suddenly Rohingya refugees sheltered in India have begun coming into Bangladesh. Around 1,300 Rohingyas came from India this month.”

“They have been put in the Ukhiya transit point shelter under the supervision of UNHCR. They will remain there until the government issues further instructions,” he added.

‘Fleeing deportation in India’
Rohingya refugees sheltered at the Kutupalong Transit Camp in Cox’s Bazar said they were doing alright at the refugee camps in India. But they have escaped to Bangladesh since the Indian government began forcefully deporting the refugees to Myanmar. Every week a Rohingya family or two is crossing the border into Bangladesh. Most of them are getting back together with family members who are already in the refugee camps here. The refugees are coming into the country by engaging traffickers at the India-Bangladesh border.

Rabeya Khatun, 50, who came from India last week and was put in the Kutupalong Transit Camp, said: “We crossed the border in the dead of the night with the help of traffickers.

“The seven of us came through the Manipur border, paying Tk10,000 per person. My husband and children came through another route. Then we met up and came to this camp,” she said.

Rohingya youth Kabir Ahmed, 25, also at Kutupalong Transit Camp, said he had gone to India through Bangladesh over four years ago.

“We were doing fine until recently, living in Hyderabad. But suddenly the Indian government started enlisting us for repatriation to Myanmar,” he said. 

“Already some Rohingyas have been forcefully repatriated, despite the fact that the conditions in Myanmar are not viable for return. It will be dangerous for us to go back there,” Kabir added.

In recent weeks, more violence has flared up in Rakhine state, the home of the Rohingya people, as the militant organization Arakan Army, an armed group based in the ethnic majority Rakhine community, engaged in conflict with the country’s security forces, calling for more autonomy for the state’s Rakhine Buddhist population.

Mia Hossain, 60, said he and his family did not want to go to their homeland in Myanmar’s Rakhine until the situation there was calm and safe.

“Let us stay here in this Rohingya camp. Our relatives are all here. We can stay here. I urge the international community to prevent the Indian government from deporting Rohingyas to Myanmar,” he added.

Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune
 

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‘A global problem requires a global solution’

President M Abdul Hamid urged on Thursday the international community to increase the pressure on Myanmar to repatriate the Rohingya refugees being sheltered by Bangladesh in Cox’s Bazar.

Addressing the 20th Homeland and Global Security Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, the Bangladesh president described the crisis as a “test case” for any future international cooperation on peace and security, reports BSS.

“The case of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar may be considered an acid test for the global community on collectively dealing with an international problem,” the president said.

“A global problem requires a global solution. I urge all members of the international community to arrive at a durable solution and stop the process of impunity by identifying the persons responsible for the acts of violence (in Myanmar).” 

President Hamid was addressing the opening session of the Homeland and Global Security Forum, which was held on the sidelines of the World Investment Forum 2018 in the Grand Hotel Kempinski. 

He said Bangladesh has been doing all it can to provide food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, childcare, and – above all – a sense of security to the displaced Rohingyas.

“We all are appalled by what we have seen in the UN reports on the horrifying atrocities committed against them (Rohingyas), which are tantamount to genocide and crimes against humanity,” he said. 

The president said third party countries often took sides in regional conflicts around the world, instead of putting pressure to end them. 

He stressed the need for “concerted and collective efforts” among all countries, to face down new security threats such as cyberattacks and to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change-induced disasters.

He said: “Peace has now become more than just absence of war, and the traditional definition of security has changed forever. Now, we also have powerful non-state actors who influence international politics to make matters worse.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution has presented us with unparalleled prospects in development, but at the same time, humanity is also facing probably the greatest dangers and existential threats in its known history.

“The rise of nationalist identity based politics set by different countries, along with lack of trust, is directly impacting the activities of different multilateral organisations and their peace-building efforts. Both at the global and regional levels, an absence of trust and lack of collaboration are on the rise.

“The rise of terrorism and extremism, along with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and transnational crimes, are pushing humanity to the edge.”

Noting that the world will have to feed more than nine billion people by 2050, Abdul Hamid said malnutrition and hunger are still ruling many parts of the world. 

Other speakers at the Homeland and Global Security Forum in Geneva included Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, Montenegro President Filip Vujanovic, and Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae Thabane. 

Jean-Paul Carteron, the honorary chairman and founder of Crans Montana Forum, served as chair.

First Publihsed on Dhaka Tribune

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The expulsion of 700,000 Rohingya by Myanmar into Bangladesh is a terrible human tragedy involving the murder of 100,000 Rohingya and the rape of innumerable Rohingya women.
A vicious and cruel assault on a human group that qualifies for crimes against humanity and probably even genocide. It is another dramatic story of the cruelty of man and signals a deep social sickness in Myanmar society.

The crisis has attracted great attention and the international press presented and written of the horrors of the expulsion.

Why did this happen now? Trouble with the Rohingya presence in Myanmar is not a new issue — there have been frequent repressive periods resulting in 100,000-200,000 to be expelled into Bangladesh. But the events of the past three months have been of a different level of cruelty than in the past.

The international community has been forthcoming with some financial support. However, the burden of caring for and nurturing the Rohingya has fallen to Bangladesh. The response of the Bangladeshi people and the government has been quite extraordinary. Deploying the army in a non-combatant role along the border, camps for the Rohingya are being rapidly constructed.
Registration of the refugees has proceeded with a large percentage now having IDs issued.  The general public in Bangladesh has reacted remarkably, gathering resources and delivering to the unfortunate refugees.

Shelter and food are gradually being managed. The medical problems are enormous, and only a start has been made. The refugee population is reported to be mostly children (60%) with a large number of orphans among them.

Medical problems include malnutrition, dangers of infectious disease such as cholera, and PTSD.

The danger to the minds of the children is reported to be extensive and difficult to cure.  The response of the ordinary people of Bangladesh has been extraordinary, and stands in contrast to the cruelty of the Myanmarese.

How it all happened

Who is behind this tragedy? Is it just the insane behaviour of the Myanmarese? Perhaps it is the army generals high on their own meth-amphetamines? Or is there something else that underlies these events and provides a better explanation?

In seeking such an explanation, we turn first to the behaviour of the Chinese and Indian governments.

The Chinese government has stood with Myanmar from the start of this crisis, supporting the claim that the treatment of the Rohingya was a natural consequence of security issues — of course the Chinese diplomats have done their best to calm the Bangladeshis and promise to help with the return of the Rohingya to Myanmar.

Their efforts are largely scoffed at by Bangladesh elites who believe that there is little hope for the return to Myanmar of these refugees.

The Indian government has also supported Myanmar in this crisis while trying to cover their tracks in Bangladesh with many statements that make their position fuzzy.

The reality is that the Indians see this crisis as a security issue, and fear that the Rohingya issue is all mixed up with the growth of Islamic fundamentalism.

However, private Indians are generously providing food for the refugees. Interestingly, the camp holding the Hindu Rohingya is not under the control of the Bangladesh army and the sources of financing and security are not clear.

The above points miss, however, what this crisis is really about.
 

The international community has been forthcoming with some financial support. However, the burden of caring for and nurturing the Rohingya has fallen to Bangladesh

Big players, bigger problems

China has a fundamental problem: Its economy is dependent on ocean shipments for supply of gas and oil and for exporting to its major markets in Europe and the Northern hemisphere.
A large part of this trade passes through the Straits of Malacca or the the Straits of Lombok (for large tankers).

It is no exaggeration to say that at this time, in late 2017, China is dependent on the freight flowing through these channels to power its economy and to fight a protracted war.

Unfortunately for the Chinese, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia maintain very close relationships with the US and the 7th Fleet of the US Navy controls these areas. For the Chinese, it is like having a knife at your throat all the time.

The driving objective of Chinese foreign policy is to escape this trap that geography has forced on them.

But getting the Americans out of Asia is more easily said than done. There are three main steps the Chinese are taking:

• Building a strong blue water navy potentially able to provide a counterforce to the US 7th Fleet
• Extend their sovereignty and power in the South China Sea
• Use the Belt and Road Project supported by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to construct alternative routes

One of the most important aspects of the Belt and Road investments is the linkage between Myanmar and China with one end at Kyaukphyu located at the southern end of the Rakhine state and the other in Kunming in China.

This includes natural gas and oil pipelines and a railway combined with an industrial estate in a Special Economic Zone. These investments will provide an alternative route for Chinese trade.

The Chinese connection

The intention of the Chinese is to build up these links over time and to create a very large facility for transport and manufacturing. This will lead to a large Chinese community that will run to hundreds of thousands.

The capacity of these links is still far below what passes through the Straits of Malacca but it makes a real contribution to shifting reliance away from this vulnerable Malacca route.

The Chinese want stable conditions in these areas.

The Chinese distrust of Islam is based on their general distrust of foreign religions and the problems that they face with their own Muslim citizens, many of whom are in active revolt.

This revolt originated from the repression of their religion in Xinjiang. Difficulties that the Chinese state will face from their repression of Muslims will not go away — such concerns are in the mind of the Chinese with respect to their presence in the Rakhine state where there was, until three months ago, a large Muslim population, almost one-third of the population of Rakhine state.

One reason that brings comfort to the Chinese is the impact of all of this on the Western alliance’s presence in Myanmar. In the past four years, the deal offered to Myanmar was: Move towards democracy and there will be a great deal of Foreign Direct Investment, access to the world financial markets, and allowing Myanmar back into the real world.

This deal was attractive to Myanmar, which resulted in their pushing back against the powerful Chinese influence.

The Rohingya crisis will reduce the attractiveness of Myanmar as an investment site, the West’s influence will decline and Chinese influence will increase. With another 200,000 Rohingya expected to move into Bangladesh in the next few weeks, the stress on Bangladesh will only increase.

The West has few cards it is willing to play, and the Chinese are the winners.

Forrest Cookson is an American economist.

Republished with permissuon from Dhaka Tribune.
 

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