It has been around six
years since Bangladesh took in over one million Rohingya people and gave them
shelter in Cox's Bazar despite facing many social, economic and environmental
challenges. The government has done so on humanitarian grounds, and with
international assistance, providing them with all the basic facilities they
need to live in the refugee camps. Historically, Bangladesh has been hosting
the Rohingya since 1977-1978 when the first wave of refugees fled to our shores
from Myanmar's Arakan state. However, in August 2017, we saw the latest and
largest such influx. In total, we're currently hosting more than 1.2 million
forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, which has become quite a struggle for us
given that international funding for the Rohingya has been waning fast.
Prioritise the Rohingya’s safety and
well-being
Bangladesh signed a repatriation agreement with Myanmar in
November 2017, and made two attempts – in 2018 and 2019 – to return the
forcibly displaced Rohingya, but without any success. While the international
community assisted Bangladesh with funds, they failed to put sufficient
pressure on Myanmar to start the repatriation process. Against this backdrop,
we really appreciate the Chinese initiative to
start the Rohingya repatriation process soon. Reportedly, Chinese Special Envoy
for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun has recently hinted that Myanmar may take back the
Rohingya living in Cox's Bazar to their own villages in North Maungdaw and
nearby places, instead of any camps or "model villages" which the
Myanmar authorities had planned earlier.
Cutting UN aid will spell disaster
for Rohingya refugees
We hope that this will indeed be the case, since the Rohingya
living in Bangladesh do not want to go back to their country and live in
confined facilities where their rights may not be ensured. In fact, earlier
this year, a group of Rohingya visited the Rakhine state to observe the
conditions for their return and found the situation to be not conducive. They
demanded that they be settled back in their original villages with their safety
and citizenship rights guaranteed. Another demand raised by them was that all
of a family should be repatriated together, which is indeed very important.
Moreover, arrangements should be made to ensure their livelihood, education and
freedom of mobility. We hope that all these legitimate demands will be met by
the Myanmar authorities before the repatriation process finally starts.
How the media helped shape a negative
perception of the Rohingya
That being said, we sincerely thank the Chinese government for
taking this initiative for Rohingya repatriation. However, for the process to
be successful and acceptable to all parties, particularly the Rohingya
refugees, there is an urgent need to engage the international community in the
process. We hope the repatriation process would start at the earliest, with the
international community playing an effective and enthusiastic role.
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