inexcusable.
- 4 December, 2022
:10 HOURS AGO
More than 3,000
Rohingya-run shops have been bulldozed by Bangladeshi authorities since last
month, the country's deputy refugee commissioner Shamsud Douza has confirmed.
Bangladesh has been praised for taking in the
refugees but rights groups have criticised a drive to knock down makeshift shops
that serve their communities. (AFP)
Bangladesh authorities
have bulldozed more than 3,000 Rohingya-run shops since last month, as
struggling refugee families voiced their dismay at the demolitions.
The
country's deputy refugee commissioner Shamsud Douza told AFP News Agency on
Tuesday that "more than 3,000 illegal shops" had been demolished.
"The number of Rohingya is increasing. And they need
shelters. We are already building sheds on the premises," he said, adding
that relief groups were ensuring the refugees were still getting daily
necessities.
But Khin Maung, a Rohingya community leader and rights activist,
told AFP the demolitions had already hurt tens of thousands of refugees in the
camps.
"Rohingya families are large and the amount of food ration
given to them is decreasing. Many families used to rely on the income from the
shops," he said.
READ MORE: Bangladesh authorities demolish scores of Rohingya shops
Rohingya Refugee Crisis: UN envoys
arrive in Bangladesh
'I am helpless'
About 850,000 members of the stateless Muslim minority are
packed into overcrowded displacement camps in Bangladesh.
Most fled neighbouring Myanmar after a 2017 military clampdown
that prompted an international genocide investigation.
Bangladesh has been praised for taking in the refugees but
rights groups have criticised restrictions placed on the refugees, most
recently a drive to knock down makeshift shops that serve their communities.
Salim Ullah, whose grocery shop was torn down, said he would now
struggle to feed his family of eight.
"That shop was my last hope. How do I run a family now?
There is no way out except to die. I am helpless," he told AFP.
Saad Hammadi of Amnesty International said the move would leave
refugees vulnerable to exploitation and worsen conditions in the camps.
"Demolition of shops and closure of community-led schools
... aggravate tension and frustration," he said.
Hammadi urged authorities to "protect the rights and
dignity of the Rohingya refugees by involving them in the decisions including
their right to earn a living".
READ MORE: Bangladesh rejects WB proposal on integrating
Rohingya refugees
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