DHAKA: Losing hope for a future and the desire to be reunited with family is prompting a growing number of Rohingya to flee overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh and make the perilous journey across the Andaman Sea.
Bangladesh hosts more than 1.2 million Rohingya Muslims, most of whom fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017. Most live in the Cox’s Bazar district, a coastal region in the east of the country that is now the world’s largest refugee settlement. ,
But the recent rescue of dozens of starving Rohingyas, who spent more than a month on a wrecked boat, shines a spotlight on the growing number of people trying to leave Cox’s Bazar illegal camps and cross the Andaman Sea Is. better life.
The boat was one of several such ships that left Bangladesh in late November. But just days into the voyage, its engines failed and its occupants were abandoned. Appeals to the governments of several countries to rescue them fell on deaf ears, and it was not until late December, as the boat entered Indonesian waters, that local fishermen answered the call.
FastFact
The UNHCR says the number of refugees trying to cross the Andaman Sea has increased sixfold since 2020.
Another boat was intercepted by the Sri Lankan Navy and a third by a Vietnamese offshore company, which handed over the refugees to the Myanmar Navy. It was not immediately clear what would happen to them.
In early December, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR issued an alert about a “dramatic increase” in the number of people attempting to cross the Andaman Sea from both Bangladesh and Myanmar, mostly Rohingya. It was estimated that there was a six-fold increase from 2020 and that at least 119 people had died making such crossings.
These figures did not include those rescued refugees who were said to have been on boats that left Cox’s Bazar in November but are now missing at sea, presumed dead.
Immigration and refugee affairs analyst Asif Munir told Arab News, “Since 2018, we have been witnessing an increasing trend of Rohingyas making the perilous sea voyage during November to February every year, as the seas are calmer and calmer during this period.” It’s cool.” ,
For most, the perilous crossing is the only option available to them to escape the peril they face in Bangladesh.
“They are only getting some food aid while they are in the refugee settlements, but there are no other activities,” Munir said.
“Children are deprived of proper education, they (adults) are not allowed to engage in any productive work. These issues make Rohingya desperate to leave.
“They have been living in the camps for a long time and on the other hand the repatriation process also seems uncertain.”
Despite several efforts by the Bangladeshi authorities, a UN-backed repatriation and resettlement process that has been going on for several years has failed to tackle the problem, with only a small number of refugees being allowed to relocate.
At the same time, economic pressure is mounting on the South Asian nation, which hosts the largest number of Rohingya asylum seekers despite not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Hosting the Rohingya costs Bangladesh an estimated $1.2 billion a year, while international aid for refugees has halved since 2020.
Furthermore, with the decreasing presence of foreign NGOs in Cox’s Bazar, the number of opportunities for the Rohingya to live there has decreased.
Rezuwan Khan, a Rohingya worker from Cox’s Bazar whose sister was rescued off the Indonesian coast, told Arab News that many Rohingya were fired from their jobs by the aid agencies that employed them.
“Many Rohingya are desperate to flee the camps, wherever possible, in search of a better life, a better future,” he said.
Many are attempting to reunite with relatives who previously moved to Malaysia, where those rescued by Indonesian fishermen were initially bound.
“There are women and children who want to be reunited with their husbands and fathers living in Malaysia. The men managed to reach Malaysia many years ago. People like this are desperate to leave the camps,” Khan said.
That desire is being exploited by smugglers, who charge up to $5,000 for a spot on a boat leaving Cox’s Bazar.
“The Rohingya are risking their lives to save their lives,” said Mohammad Noor Khan, a Bangladeshi rights activist and migration expert.
“In the camp, where most people are young, it is living without any hope for the future. People wish for a better life, it is very natural.
He said the international community should do more to protect people from traffickers, “so that the Rohingya can be able to return to their homeland.”
“If we cannot keep this dream alive, then the trafficking of Rohingyas cannot be stopped.”