Dhaka: Rohingya refugees said on Wednesday they had lost their sources of income and daily necessities in the world’s largest refugee settlement, Cox’s Bazar, as Bangladeshi authorities demolished more than 2,000 of their “illegal” shops.
Bangladesh hosts more than 1.1 million Rohingyas who fled neighboring Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017. Most of them live in dozens of camps in Cox’s Bazar, a coastal region in the east of the country.
Some temporary shops serving the refugee community have been closed by law enforcement for a variety of reasons, including trading in illegal products, but such operations were limited until last month.
Over the past few weeks, more than 2,000 shops have been bulldozed, as Cox’s Bazar officials say they try to clear the way for new homes as the number of refugees continues to rise.
Additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, Shamasud Dauza, told Arab News: “Work is underway on vacant land to build homes and health centers for the Rohingyas.” Help.
“Rohingyas are not allowed to run any shop and do business here,” Dauja said. “Breaking these illegal shops is a part of our regular activity that we have been doing from time to time since 2018.”
However, this is the first time that the authorities have removed so many shops in one go.
Mohamed Alameen, who had a shop in the Ukhiya camp, said he was left with no means to support his family.
“We get 13 kg of rice for each member of the family apart from edible oil, pulses, salt, sugar, onions etc. But the family needs many other things to survive, for which we need some cash. Without a livelihood, how can we survive?” He told Arab News.
“I used to run a small shop selling tea, cookies, paan etc, but it was bulldozed on December 8. I used to make a profit of around $3 per day which was a huge support for my seven member family. ,
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Cox’s Bazar officials say they are trying to clear the way for new homes as the number of refugees rises.
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The demolition raised concerns over pressure on Rohingyas to relocate to the controversial Bhasan Char Island camp.
Nobi Hussain, whose vegetable shop was also demolished, said that without local shops, staples were not available to the community.
“There are many daily necessities that we need to buy. If we can’t run these little shops, where are we going to get it? He asked. “Such initiatives by the authorities will only add to our miseries.”
The recent demolition push has also raised concerns over pressure being created on Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar to relocate to the controversial camp on the flood-prone island Bhasan Char, about 68 km from the mainland.
To pressure Cox’s Bazar, the Bangladeshi government has sent 20,000 refugees to the island since December 2020, with plans for a total of 100,000. Officials say refugees have more opportunities to earn a livelihood at Bhasan Char, where they can engage in farming and fishing.
Prominent Bangladeshi human rights activist Noor Khan Liton said: “This initiative may create some sort of pressure on the refugees, which will eventually lead them to the island.” “If thousands of Rohingyas live there, then naturally they will need some kind of small thing. If they are not allowed to run small shops within the community, it will put them in trouble.”
“We must keep in mind that these Rohingya are refugees here and their issue should be dealt with from a more humane point of view, until they are safely repatriated to their homeland with due respect and dignity.”
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