The impacts and challenges to host country Bangladesh due to sheltering the Rohingya refugees

Abstract

Rohingya refugees are among the most persecuted people in the world. The Myanmar government has forced them to flee to Bangladesh a couple of times, and the recent atrocities of the Myanmar government have added insult to injury on the current crisis. Although the demographic vulnerability and socio-economic condition of Bangladesh do not suggest assuming extra responsibility, more than one million Rohingya refugees are currently staying in Bangladesh. As a result, Bangladesh faces many challenges and problems, along with social, environmental, legal and financial impacts. This paper aims to identify the impacts and challenges for Bangladesh due to the mass influx of Rohingya refugees. The paper also provides some recommendations to the world community, human rights activists and concerned authorities in order to resolve the refugee crisis permanently.

Keywords:

• Rohingya refugees
• Bangladesh
• Myanmar
• Cox’s Bazar
• impacts
• challenges

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

Rohingya refugees are the most marginalized and persecuted section of people in the world. The heinous brutality of Myanmar has forced them to flee them to neighboring Bangladesh couple of times. The recent atrocity of Myanmar has added insult to injury on the existing crisis. Even the demographic vulnerability and socio-economic condition of the country do not suggest taking over extra responsibility but currently more than one million Rohingyas are staying in Bangladesh. Bangladesh being a poverty stricken one has shown unprecedented generosity in sheltering the Rohingya refugees. For massively sheltering the Rohingya, Bangladesh is facing a lot of problems e.g., economic, social, environmental and legal problems. The study identified the impacts, crisis, and challenges to Bangladesh due to mass influx of Rohingya refugees. Moreover, the study also provided recommendations so that the world community come forward to resolve the crisis of the persecuted Rohingya refugees through repatriation, resettlement and reintegration.

1. Introduction

The Rohingya crisis is presently one of the major problems in Bangladesh, but the country has been struggling with the refugee issue since 1978. The dilemma first began when almost one million refugees came to Bangladesh from Myanmar to take shelter. These Muslim refugees are known as “Rohingya.” This historic incident was repeated in 2017–2018 when about 400,000 Rohingya refugees escaped from the Rakhine state of Myanmar and sought refuge in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh (Khatun, 2017). This religious minority is deprived of fundamental human rights and civil rights. The Rohingya issue has now become a burning question for Bangladesh, which is already a densely populated country, ‍as the refugees continue to enter Bangladesh for shelter. As a result, Bangladesh is facing various socio-economic, political and financial challenges while trying to provide the necessities of life to those refugees. Legally, Bangladesh is not the final safe zone or destination for refugees because it is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol or a party to the Statelessness Conventions of 1954 and 1961 (Adnan, 2014). But neither could Bangladesh reject shelters to the Rohingya refugees on humanitarian grounds. Even though Bangladesh has decided to assist the refugees, it is not prosperous enough to accommodate the Rohingya refugees. There is also a lack of strict domestic law concerning refugees or political asylum in Bangladesh, which is struggling to overcome this “Rohingya Crisis” to save its image in the international arena. The Rohingya people were forced to leave Myanmar and settle in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has tried to address the multi-dimensional “Rohingya Crisis”, which is also being considered seriously by numerous international agencies and NGOs in Bangladesh. There has been worldwide concern regarding the atrocious act of the Myanmar government towards the Rohingya refugees sheltered in Bangladesh (Lewa, 2011). In this dire situation, there is a need for greater awareness about this multi-dimensional crisis. It is time for world leaders to develop an open-minded, reorganized, and diplomatic outlook to address the Rohingya Crisis. The mass influx of Rohingya refugees and their concentration in Cox’s Bazar have raised several serious issues-i.e., humanitarian, economic, environmental, regional relations, and most of all, security concerns. The security concerns have two dimensions: (i) the potential conflict between the Rohingyas and the host community; and (ii) the radicalization of the Rohingyas who have suffered unprecedented deprivations, religious persecution and other inhuman atrocities. This assessment is undertaken to identify the overall impacts, crisis and challenges associated with security risks.

2. Objectives

The main objective of this paper is to identify the impacts and challenges caused by the mass influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh. The other objectives of the paper are:

1. To explore the importance of tackling multiple hazards which the country immediately has to deal with in terms of building resilience capacities for social protection of Rohingya refugees;

2. To identify the risk reduction and climate adaptation perspectives of Rohingya refugees;

3. To provide some recommendations to the world community in order to resolve the issues permanently.

3. Research questions

The objectives of this study formulate the following research questions to fulfill the research:

1. What are the geneses and historical backgrounds of the Rohingya refugees?

2. What is the extent of the present Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh due to mass influx?

3. What are the support structures being provided by government, donor agencies and diplomats in resolving the crisis?

4. What is the legal status of the Rohingyas?

5. What are the economic, social, environmental, and health impacts of the Rohingya crisis?

6. What are the budgetary expenditures and international aspects for sharing the financial burden of the host country, Bangladesh?

4. Methodology and source of information

Information has been collected from both primary and secondary sources. The study adopts both qualitative and quantitative approaches in analyzing the issue. Primary information has been collected through interviews of relevant stakeholders and first-hand observations at the Rohingya camps at Ukhia and Teknaf Upazila (Upazila is an administrative unit in Bangladesh) of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The author conducted field investigations from 30 October to 30 November 2018. During the field visit, the author conducted 12 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with Rohingya refugees [both old and new entrants, including male and female who are of 18–70 years (Table 1). 10 male and 10 female joined in each FGD, and the author facilitated the FGD sessions with two local students. The FGDs were conducted in the native language of the Rohingya, and details were translated by those students. Twenty-seven Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) of Rohingya refugees, government officials, development workers, and businessmen have been conducted (Table 1). Discussions with local people and first-hand observation at the campsites were held while the respondents of the study were selected to understand their perspectives. Qualitative data collected through this exercise were then compared with relevant published documents to check the consistency of information.

Map of the Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh.

Table 1. Shows the list of Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

Date	Place	Interviews	FGDs
30 October 2018	Cox’s Bazar Sadar	4	1 [Cox’s Bazar civil society (20)]
15 November 2018	Ukhia camp	9	4 [female Rohingya (15), male Rohingya(5) campnly, 3 chairmen]
18 November 2018	Teknaf camp	6	2 [Male Rohingya(10) and Female (10)]
22 November 2018	Ramu upazila & Ukhia camp	4	3 [Male Rohingya (10), Female (10)
30 November 2018	Teknaf and Ukhia camp	4	2 [Youth Rohingya community M (10), F (10
Total		27	12 (100 participants)

5. Characteristics of the Rohingya refugees (along with demography)

Figure 1. Demography of the Rohingya refugees.

1. The majority of the male refugees are children (below the age of 18). Women-headed households are 14% and child-headed household 5%.

2. Fertility rate and family sizes of the Rohingyas are quite high.

3. 52% of refugees are women. The bulk of the female refugees is adults above 18 while many of them are of childbearing age. It is reported that about 80,000 women refugees are pregnant.

4. 31% of refugees suffer from high vulnerability. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Welfare of Bangladesh shows that 36,373 orphaned children are living in and around camps, and many of them are at risk of abuse and trafficking (Figure 1).

Cox’s Bazar district, with an area of 2491.86 square kilometers, is the host region of most of the Rohingya refugees. Almost all of the refugees are concentrated in two Upazilas (Ukhia and Teknaf) of Cox’s Bazar. They are housed in 12 camps, seven of which are located at Ukhia and five at Teknaf. The population of Ukhia and Teknaf together is 4, 27,913, while they are hosting more than 10, 00,000 Rohingya refugees, both old and new. Hence the host community is largely outnumbered by the refugees. Cross-country criminal activities have been a severe problem in the border areas of Cox’s Bazar. The porous border between Bangladesh and Myanmar has long been used for illegal drugs and arms trade and for human trafficking. According to a report published in the Daily Star, 150,000 people were trafficked through the Bay of Bengal route in the last four years. All of the Ya ba (one kind of drug, the illicit use of this drug combination has caused problems in Bangladesh) in Bangladesh comes from Myanmar. These illegal activities have become the source of livelihood of many residents of the border areas.

6. The list of Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) which were arranged to conduct the study

Total 12 Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) and 27 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted by the author to complete this study. Total number of participants in FGDs was 100 (including male and female of different age). The authors visited the refugee camps and spoke with the local people of Cox’s Bazar, along with government officials, elected representatives, and many local people to collect data. Besides, a large number of data on the Rohingya issues have been collected from different published sources and such types of secondary data were also used to conduct the study.

7. Findings and analysis

7.1. Meaning and concept of the refugee

The UNHCR was set up by the General Assembly on 14 December 1950 to address refugee issues. Since its establishment, the UNHCR has been one of the United Nation’s specialized bodies dealing with the issues of refugees. A diplomatic conference adopted the Refugee Convention in Geneva on July 1951. It was eventually expanded through the 1967 Protocol. This Convention on the designation of Refugees is the main legally binding document that defines the refugees, their rights, and the legal obligations of the states towards them. The 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol have become the primary factors for instrument building and the affirmation of a broad consensus on refugee terms. Again, the 1967 Protocol gradually expanded its applicability to spread around the world to the crisis of dislocation of the population and the fundamental human rights to be granted to them. The 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as:

A person who: Owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country or to return there because there is a fear of persecution.

The reasons for mistreatment must be one of the five reasons mentioned in Article 1A (2) of the Refugee Convention, which include: race, religion, nationality, membership of a specific social group or political opinion (The Refugee Convention, 1951). It is specified that persecution on any other ground will not be regarded as a refugee ground. Some possible reasons for refugee flight are civil war, natural disaster, poverty, mass unemployment, etc. These reasons should be included in a refugee’s definition, but presently such people are classified as “economic migrants”. Several people will not be granted asylum-(a) if they have records of committing crimes against humanity or some other crime defined under international instruments; (b) if they have committed a non-political crime; (c) if they have communication or accusations to commit any other crime that conflicts with UN provisions. As per Article 1A (2) of the Refugee Convention of 1951, in order to fall under the definition of a refugee, four elements of the situation should be present, i.e. (i) “well-founded fear of persecution”, (ii) “fleeing across the border of one’s country”, (iii) “discriminations based on race, sex, and religion” and (iv) “unwillingness to return to one’s country unless safety is guaranteed”. First, the term well-founded fear of persecution generally refers to a state of mind, which means that there must be a reason for fear to be persecuted and of course, the actual existence of persecution (Pittaway, 2008). This indicates that not only is the person’s fear sufficient to obtain refugee status, but an actual situation must support this fear. Secondly, refugees flee from the place they used to reside in to seek refuge in another country, i.e., they have to cross the border of the state from which they fled, as the Convention does not cover internally displaced persons. Thirdly, refugees must be forced to flee because they are discriminated on the basis of their race, sex, religion, or membership in a social or political group. Finally, the refugees are unwilling to return until they have an assurance that the unrest situation, which made them flee their land, has come to an end (Baby, 2018). The UNHCR must be satisfied that a reasonable apprehension exists in a situation that allows them to return to their own residence.

7.2. Historical geneses of the Rohingyas

The number of people who are being forced to leave their motherland has increased dramatically over the years, reaching 50 million throughout the world by 2015 (UNHCR, 2016). After Africa and the Middle East, Asia is the leading generator of refugees. Southeast Asia is one of Asia’s highest refugee producing regions, and Myanmar is the largest contributor to this sector (Ullah & Ahsan., 2016). The Rohingyas are among the world’s most vulnerable populations that are neglected and oppressed. In the three townships of Myanmar’s North Rakhine State-Maungdaw, Buthidaing and Rathedaung, approximately 1 to 1.5 million Rohingyas were concentrated (Patterson & Kelleher, 2005). This population group has suffered much discriminatory and unequal treatment. They are the burning example of the violation of human rights. “Rohingya” is a name in the history that refers to the Arakanese Muslim. In the city of Akayab in Myanmar, there is a Muslim village called “Rohingya Para” (Grindle & Thomas, 1991). Initially, the Rakhine State was referred to as Rohang, from which the name “Rohingya” was derived. Today, however, this term has become a political term. There have been two powerful blocs in Myanmar: pro-Rohingya and anti-Rohingya. The pro-bloc claims that the Rohingyas settled in Myanmar in the ninth century, mingling with Bengalis, Persians, Mughals, Turks and Pathans, in line with the traditionally multiethnic inhabitants of the Arakan State (Mannan, 2017). The anti-block claims that the Rohingyas have much later origins, consisting primarily of the unlawful Bengal Chittagonian (citizens of Chittagong area of Bangladesh) who came to Myanmar during British colonial rule. Since the late 1960 s, however, the term “Rohingya” has lost its salience because the government has used the term as a label for “immigrant”. By religion, they are Muslims ethnically; they are different from the other ethnic groups (Abrar, 2018). That is why they are not recognized as Myanmar’s citizens. The Myanmar government considers them to be “Resident Foreigners”. The citizens of Myanmar are divided into three separate categories by the Burma Citizenship Law of 1982: citizens, associate citizens and naturalized citizens. Myanmar issues three color-coded citizenship scrutiny cards (Ullah, 2017). The previous representative government (headed by politician U. Nu) listed 144 ethnic groups in Myanmar and acknowledged all of them as ethnic groups. But General Ne Win (former President of Myanmar) listed only 135 groups, and the list was approved in 1974 by the Constitution of the Myanmar Socialist Program Party regime (Folke et al., 2003). It is ironically the ill fate of the Rohingya that the government of Myanmar purposely omitted in their census the Rohingyas from the list of the country’s 135 official ethnic groups (Ganesan & Hlaing, 2007). Moreover, Ne Win’s government concluded that the citizenship law would acknowledge only those whose family members had settled in the country before the independence of Myanmar in 1948 as Myanmar’s citizens. Some other occurrences that also made them illegitimate citizens are essential to mention, such as Operation Nagamin (operation carried out by the Army and immigration officials in northern Arakan of Myanmar during the rule of Ne Win) that was launched in 1978. Inspector teams of inter-agency (Planned by Socialist government of Ne Win) took away official documentation from many Rohingyas during Operation Nagamin. The military regime then passed the 1982 Citizenship Law. The persons who had already become citizens by the time of the law came into force would remain so under section 6 of the law (Rahman, 2017). The law also offered “Associate Citizenship” and “Naturalized citizenship”. ’Associate Citizenship’ was for those whose citizenship applications had already been processed at the time while “Naturalized citizenship” was for those who were not citizens but were able to prove that they and their predecessors have been living in Myanmar since the independence of Myanmar (Ganguly & Miliate, 2015). Therefore, according to the law, all Myanmar-based Rohingyas may continue to acquire Myanmar nationality both under section 6 of the Act and as naturalized or associated citizens. However, almost all of the Rohingyas could at least trace their ancestry back to the colonial era. And even after that, they were denied citizenship. It should be noted that, under this new law, the Rohingyas who were eligible for citizenship under the 1948 law would no longer be eligible. So, they would be termed associate citizens if they asked for citizenship in 1948 (Moench, 2014). It is necessary to prove that the applicants or their parents came to Burma and actually lived there prior to Myanmar’s independence in 1948 in order to qualify as a naturalized citizen. The Rohingyas were not subject to any laws that recognize their special status, and they appear to be treated as stateless people.

8. Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

In recent years, thousands of Rohingya people crossed the Naf River by boat to leave Myanmar due to persecution of the military forces. The Naf River is a Bangladesh-Myanmar common coastal area (Bahadur & Tanner, 2014). There have been deadly clashes in Myanmar between Buddhists and Muslims. The violence began after a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered in May 2012. Then a bus carrying Muslims was attacked, forcing the authority to announce a national emergency in June 2012 in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. At that time, the Muslim people and the Buddhist people assaulted one another, which caused the death of many people and compelled thousands of people from both sides to flee their homes. This social instability persisted for several days, and approximately 1,000 people had been killed in Rakhine since June 2012. This incident left 140,000 internally displaced persons. Ninety-four per cent of them were Muslims (Center for Policy Diologue, 2017). More than 1,000,000 Rohingya people have come to Bangladesh to avoid ethnic and religious persecution by security forces in Myanmar. Previously, Bangladesh was already hosting more than 300,000 Rohingyas. The new mass departure began on 25 August 2017 following the outbreak of violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine. It forced about 1,000,000 people from Rakhine to leave Myanmar and to come to Bangladesh for shelter. Approximately, 12,000 people were estimated to have reached Bangladesh by early 2018 (Author, 2018). Most of them were women and children. More than 40 percent of them are under 12 years of age. They are deprived of fundamental necessities of life.

9. Present Rohingya crisis and influx to Bangladesh

The government of Myanmar once again began persecuting the Rohingya people in 2017. UNHCR has labeled the Myanmar government’s cruelty towards the Rohingya people as “ethnic cleansing”. From 25 August 2017 to 25 October 2017, a total number of 605,000 Rohingyas arrived in Cox’s Bazar (reported by the Cox’s Bazar District Commissioner Office). Besides, almost 203,431 Rohingya refugees were already living at Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazila of Cox’s Bazar, and they had come there during the period from July 2005 to August 2017 (Source: report on the Relief Distribution to Myanmar Nationals in Cox’s Bazar, Memorandum No. 51.01.2200.000.24.016.17–555). The Rohingya refugees are concentrated in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas of Cox’s Bazar, living in the shanties and suffering from hunger, diseases, and want of proper clothing. Furthermore, about 200,000 Rohingyas are living in the neighboring areas of Cox’s Bazar, i.e., Bandarban and other districts of Bangladesh (Khatun, 2017). According to the information provided by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Report (2017), the overall number of the Rohingya upsurge to Cox’s Bazar stood at approximately 821,000 from 25 August to 5 November 2007. The total number of Rohingya refugees staying in Bangladesh is about 1,008,431 (Center for Policy Diologue, 2017).

10. Dealing with the recent challenges

10.1. Humanitarian support for the Rohingyas

The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Bangladesh is providing humanitarian support to the Rohingya refugees who are staying in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazila of Cox’s Bazar. Several national and international organizations have also rendered their help. A total amount of USD four hundred thirty four million was sought as humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees at a conference in Geneva organized by the UN, IOM, UNHCR, OCHA and co-hosted by Kuwait and the European Union (“Joint Statement on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis,” 2017). Thirty-five sources committed a total number of USD three hundred fourty four million at the conference. The total incoming fund is equivalent to USD one hundred forty three pint one nine million as of 10 November 2017, which is 33 per cent of the UN (UNOCHA) information appeal fund.

10.2. Diplomatic initiatives

The atrocities against the Rohingyas in Myanmar by the Myanmar government have been defined as “ethnic cleansing” by the UNHCR. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh has proposed a five-point proposal for resolving the Rohingya crisis: Myanmar has to stop the violence and the practice of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingyas; the UN Secretary-General should send a fact-finding mission to Myanmar immediately; the civilian population in Myanmar must be safeguarded irrespective of religion and ethnicity; to ensure the sustainable return to Myanmar for all forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh, the Myanmar government has been requested to end excessive military force and inter-communal violence in Rakhine state by the UN Security Council (The Daily Star, 2017). The Myanmar government has also been requested to resolve the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine by the Kofi Annan Commission (international advisory commission headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan). The European Union imposed an embargo on the supply of arms and commodities to Myanmar on this matter. The US has also proclaimed Myanmar’s withdrawal of military assistance.

10.3. Bilateral agreement

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the Home Minister of Bangladesh, visited Myanmar on October 24–27, 2017 and talked with the Minister of Home Affairs of Myanmar over the repatriation of the Rohingyas. During this period, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed two security and border co-operation agreements. They concluded after the discussion that they should coordinate efforts and adopt measures to send the Rohingyas back to Myanmar in a secure, dignified and transparent way (The Reuters, October 24, 2017). They planned to take all feasible policies to restore normalcy in the Rakhine State in order to facilitate the dispossessed Myanmar citizens to return to their homeland soon.

10.4. Legal status of Rohingyas

The most painful plight is losing identity. The Rohingyas have been suffering from an identity crisis for a long time (Westley, 1995). Though as citizens of the country they contributed to Myanmar’s society and economy, their origin, ethnicity and identity were questioned repeatedly. Instead, they were identified by the Myanmar government as “Illegal Bengali Immigrants to Myanmar”. The Bangladesh government, on the contrary, identifies them as “Forcefully Displaced Myanmar Citizens”. Bangladesh signed several international human rights treaties. Some of these treaties’ provisions indirectly promote refugee rights that are not enforceable in courts of law. Bangladesh issued identity cards to the Rohingyas as “Myanmar Nationals” to handle the crisis. All these Myanmar nationals, the Rohingyas, were biometrically registered by the Department of Immigration and Passport, Bangladesh. They receive three types of humanitarian aid: material relief, medical assistance and shelter in Bangladesh (Author, 2018. This information were received while conducting the FGD by the author and FGD is a good way to gather together people from to discuss a specific topic of interest).

11. Impacts of the Rohingya crisis

Bangladesh is facing and will face grave economic, social and environmental challenges due to the emergent Rohingya crisis. The impact of these challenges will be prevalent as long as the Rohingyas stay here.

11.1. Economic impact

Local economy and its employment structures can easily be changed due to the emerging Rohingya crisis. A similar language is spoken by both the local people of Cox’s Bazar and the Rohingyas (Danter et al., 2000). Therefore, they can mix with the local people, which is a potential threat to Bangladesh. Many unemployed local students are working with the government, non-government and development partners in various capacities (Rahman, 2017). As jobs are readily available, the day labourers are also switching to work in the camps with the aid agencies. This job opportunity has created a shortage of labor in the local market, and finding workers has been a problem for the local farmers. Furthermore, another economic impact is that in Saint Martin Island of Cox’s Bazar, the current Rohingya crisis has created a low tourist turnout. Because of the ongoing instability along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, ship traffic is strictly forbidden. The Cox’s Bazar Tour Operators have recently claimed that Bangladesh is at risk of losing more than a million tourists.

11.2. Social impacts

11.2.1. Population and childbirth

Several NGO workers have noted that the Rohingyas have little awareness of family planning, and the population of Rohingya is likely to increase in the camps. In the near future, it will put additional pressure on food, jobs, health, and other basic needs. Moreover, it is a matter of great concern that childbirths are not registered in the Rohingya camps. They are living there for now, but no one knows how long they will have to stay there without any citizenship.

11.2.2. Health concerns

During FGDs, it was found that sanitation is one of the major problems for the Rohingya refugees who are living in different camps. Only a single latrine is dedicated to 10 families while a tube-well is placed for 50 families. Most of the latrines have 2–3 rings, meaning that they will quickly get filled up (Livelihoods working groups, 2018). Some people disagreed with using new latrines because they think that the new ones are like the old ones. Therefore, open defecation is likely to occur, which will spread diseases among them. There is another problem with tube-well placement, because some tube-wells were installed at a lower height (30–40 feet). As a result, after some time, these tube-wells may become useless because they cannot reach the groundwater. Therefore, the Rohingyas will have to face the scarcity of safe drinking water in the near future. In addition, the camp children roam barefooted as they do not have shoes to wear or they do not want to wear them at all (Olsson et al., 2004). Moreover, during the FGD it was found that there is hardly any window in their shanties, and the smoke, caused by cooking inside the camp, will invite respiratory diseases. Along with this, as there is no government hospital nearby, it is difficult to diagnose patients. Another issue is their health. They are too busy to manage foods and clothes for living.

11.2.3. Major needs for the Rohingya refugees

Most Rohingya refugees suffer from water shortage, problems of sanitation and bathing, and a lack of fuel for cooking (Bahadur & Tanner, 2014). During the FGDs, few Rohingya women mentioned that in the case of sanitation, women usually feel uncomfortable to use latrines, they are often too far from their shelters.

11.2.4. Education

Local children have been facing problems in receiving education since the arrival of the Rohingyas as some schools are converted into barracks to house military personnel, while some local students are avoiding schools and colleges to work in the Rohingya camps (Pittaway & Cope, 2007). Rohingya children have poor amenities to receive an education. Some Rohingya families are sending their children to Maktab (Islamic education institute) in the camps.

11.2.5. Perception of the local people

The local people also face multi-dimensional problems due to the Rohingya crisis. Previously, they could move freely in their neighborhood, but now they have to carry their national identity card with themselves to prove they are Bangladeshi nationals. Most of them used to graze their cattle in the fields, which are now occupied by the Rohingya people (Author, 2018). The local people often feel insecure and do not know what they would do if the Rohingya refugees become violent. The Rohingya refugees often try to enter local villages. The local people used to enjoy many facilities such as free medical check-up and healthcare, stipend, and counselling provided by different NGOs and international agencies. But the termination of such services after the crisis began made the local people resentful of the Rohingya presence (Author, 2018). At the beginning of the infiltrations of Rohingyas, some Bangladeshi people let the Rohingya people live on their lands, thinking that they will return to Myanmar after some days. But the scenario has changed with the passage of time. At present they are worried about their future, as there has been no tangible progress about the repatriation of the Rohingya.

11.2.6. Law and order

• Human Trafficking: There have been many alarming reports that Rohingya trafficking involves various crime syndicates to smuggle the Rohingyas who do not want to stay there in the camps. They charge trafficking fees ranging from BDT 20,000 to 50,000 (Author, 2018). Many local and national newspapers have also published reports on the trafficking of women to international markets.

• Forced prostitution: Many female Rohingya refugees have engaged themselves in prostitution and have taken it as a business due to poverty (Guiu et al., 2015). There is a possible risk of the newcomers falling prey to this profession.

• Fake identity: It is also a matter of great concern that many Rohingya refugees are trying to gain Bangladeshi identification, i.e., Bangladeshi Passport, Identity Card by bribing local corrupt police officers and political activists.

• Drug cartel: There is another grave concern that drug distribution may attract the Rohingyas. Interviewees and participants of FGDs argue that the influx of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar will increase the trade and use of narcotic drugs, such as Ya ba in the cities and villages of Bangladesh. Rohingyas also claim that their young are being pushed into crime because they cannot work legally in Myanmar. In an FGD with the young people, the college and university going students of Cox’s Bazar highlighted the problem of Ya ba addiction. They were concerned that the young people of the local community are affected by the Ya ba carried by Rohingya refugees (Author, 2018).

• Mobile Phone SIM Cards: The Bangladesh government has forbidden Bangladeshi telecom operators to sell mobile phone SIM cards to the Rohingyas. It is known to all that all GSM phones need a SIM card to run and this removable smart card can secure the data, which makes it much easier to move from one phone carrier to another. Moreover, SIM Cards hold the cell phone number, rate plan, LAI (Location Area Identity), service features and preferences, text messages, address book (info for about 250 contacts), PIN lock etc. As a result, Mobile Phone SIM Card is an issue. But it was found that some Rohingyas have mobile phones and they are using the Bangladeshi Mobile Phone SIM cards.

11.3. Environmental impacts

11.3.1. Deforestation in the camp area

The initial loss of forest area is 3,500 acres from the total forest area of 2,092,016 acres due to Rohingya concentration in Cox’s Bazar. It represents a loss of 1.67% in the forest area of Cox’s Bazar and a loss of 0.05% in the total national forest area (Abrar, 2018). It has been estimated that the value of forest land occupied by the Rohingya refugees is five billion Taka (in Bangladeshi currency). Some large makeshift camps have been established at Kutupalong, Balukhali, and other areas of Cox’s Bazar and some southern parts of Bangladesh. It has created a “substantial direct impact” on the available forest resources at Ukhia range. It is the worst-affected area due to the Rohingya crisis. Under the Ukhia upazila, 700 hectares was plantation area of the total 1,485 hectares of encroached forest land. But vast areas have been cleared up for Rohingya settlement (Khatun, 2017). As a result, over 1,500 participants in the social forestry plantation have lost their benefits. The Rohingya refugees also collect fuelwood for their cooking from the forest areas within the 10 kilometers zone around the Rohingya camps (Author, 2018). Available fuel supply may last for approximately a year. As a result, the whole forest land of 26,000 hectares will be ruined with low biomass and productivity. If the Rohingya refugees continue to collect wood for cooking from the nearby forest areas of Cox’s Bazar, then it will affect the Inani National Park and Himchhari National Park, located in Cox’s Bazar. Rohingya settlement will adversely impact forest lands in the Teknaf and Ukhia upazila (UNDP Assessment, 2017). It may generate social conflict between the Bangladeshi nationals and the Rohingya people over the use of resources from forest land (Author, 2018). Several recommendations have been emphasized by the UN body to mitigate the impact. These recommendations include preventing the Rohingya refugees from accessing fuelwood from the forest, supporting the Rohingya refugees through various aid agencies and by launching a reforestation program in Cox’s Bazar.

11.3.2. Waste generation

Tarpaulin, aluminum, and bamboo are widely used as major shelter materials in the Rohingya refugee camp area (Zhou et al., 2010). Tarpaulin and aluminum are non-disposable items except bamboo. Plastic containers are used to supply water to the Rohingya camps (Author, 2018). Plastic containers are not only a non-disposable item but are also harmful to the environment.

11.3.3. Groundwater

Groundwater depletion and contamination are the most critical effects caused by the Rohingya influx as per the UNDP Assessment (2017). According to that report, the demand for water has increased since the Rohingya started fleeing to Bangladesh. Teknaf coastal zone has falling groundwater levels. A vast number of tube-wells have been installed in the Rohingya camps, especially at Kutupalong and Balukhali camps. These tube-wells are very close to each other. The installation of these tube-wells to meet the huge demand of the Rohingya refugees’ results in an exhaustive withdrawal of water. As a consequence, some of the tube-wells have already gone dry. It is anticipated that the shallow aquifer would be exhausted within a short time. Apart from that, a large number of latrines without proper soak pit have been installed in the Rohingya camps. These latrines are often very close to water points (Douglas et al., 2011). As a result, the groundwater has been contaminated from leakage, seepage, and overflow from these facilities. The Red Cross collected groundwater samples from various Rohingya camps for testing. According to the findings, 70% of the samples were heavily polluted. It should be stated that there is not much surface water in the influx area. It has got some small streams. The concerned authority must identify potential water aquifer to mitigate the water issue. All water sources should be protected from pollution, and water treatment facilities should be developed. Piped water supply is also needed there.

11.3.4. Risk of landslide

The terrain of the hills has lost their natural setting due to the indiscriminate hill cutting to provide shelters for the Rohingya refugees (UNDP Assessment, 2017). The hills have lost their vegetation cover according to the report of the UNDP. Rain or stormy winds may carry away the fertile topsoil and other loose soils as they become very vulnerable. About 50% of the hills have been completely denuded in the influx area (Center for Policy Diologue, 2017). Many areas surrounding the camps were also affected by erosion. Landslide may happen anytime because of the cutting of the hills. Therefore, landslide is a grave impact of Rohingya crisis.

11.3.5. Wildlife and others

Wildlife and wilderness are at stake because of the makeshift camps as per the UNEP report. It has a significant impact on wildlife, particularly on the elephants suffering from habitat loss and fragmentation. During the FGD, it was observed that on the corridors of elephants, some Rohingya refugee camps were established. Consequently, there is conflict between elephants and -humans (Gunderson & Pritchard, 2002). The elephants may become locally extinct if this problem is not checked quickly.

12. Budgetary implications

12.1. Estimation of requirements for the Rohingyas

The funding requirement was estimated to be 434 USD million for 1.2 million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh for the last six months (September 2017 to February 2018). UNHCR requested an additional 83.7 USD million in funds. In September 2017 to February 2018, the estimated costs of providing for the Rohingya refugees was 517.78 USD million (source: UN website).

12.2. Future fund requirement for the Rohingyas

Based on the estimation of UNHCR, many NGOs have tried to estimate the fund requirement for the Fiscal Year 2018–19. They anticipated that they would require an amount of 882 USD million for ten months. Expenditure per day per Rohingya refugee was found to be 2.45. USD

12.3. The expenditure of the government of Bangladesh

Many international organizations and NGOs are presently providing humanitarian support to Rohingya refugees. But it can be easily said that it will not continue for long. Then Bangladesh has to carry the burden of the Rohingya refugees (Joehnk, 2017). The extent of the Bangladesh government’s expenditure will depend on the duration of the Rohingya refugees’ stay. In the present budgetary framework, there is no scope for additional public spending. The Bangladesh government is thinking about taking a loan from the World Bank.

12.4. Shortcomings of the cost estimations

Although various organizations have anticipated the estimated requirement, it is only indicative. These are direct costs for the Rohingya refugees to be incurred. But, if they need rehabilitation in the proposed area of Bhashanchar of Bangladesh, there will be a need for additional costs such as land and infrastructure development costs.

13. The international aspects for sharing the financial burden of Bangladesh

Bangladesh will have to struggle very hard to meet the basic human necessities of the Rohingya refugees like food, clothing and other necessities. The circumstances will become indefensible for the country soon. The former Finance Minister of Bangladesh, Mr. Muhith, told the journalists that the influx of Rohingya refugees had put tremendous pressure on Bangladesh’s economy. He said, “About 2 USD billion is required to face the refugee crisis” (The New York Times, October 6, 2017). The International Monetary Fund is ready to provide financial assistance to Bangladesh for dealing with the Rohingya crisis in the way the World Bank had. This crisis has put enormous pressure on Bangladesh’s economy. With its deficiencies, Bangladesh is under tremendous pressure. Bangladesh, however, has kept its doors open to the Rohingya refugees. Following a meeting with Mr. Muhith on 11 October 2017, Annette Dixon, the vice-president of World Bank for the South Asia region, said in a statement, “While we hope the refugees can safely return home soon, it is important that the international community support them and the host communities in the near-term with basic services. We will do everything we can to provide that support”. World Bank program evaluation has not been decided yet, but it might include expanding access to health, education, water, sanitation, and roads. The USA State Department said, “The USA will provide nearly 32 USD million in humanitarian aid to help Rohingya refugees”. “The USA is providing an additional nearly 32 USD million in humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs of Rohingya fleeing violence from Myanmar to Bangladesh, and internally displaced persons in Rakhine State of Myanmar, and host communities in Bangladesh” (The Daily Star, May 28, 2019). The US also hailed the benevolence of Bangladesh in reacting to the humanitarian catastrophe following the mass departure of the Rohingya refugees. The US also called on all parties in Rakhine State to allow unrestricted humanitarian support to people. The US urged other donors to participate in offering additional humanitarian aid to those afflicted by the crisis. Bangladesh is already an overpopulated country, but it has tried to host hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.

14. Discussion, recommendations and concluding remarks

The UNHCR and other international agencies are putting mounting pressure on the Bangladesh government to formulate a more practical approach to deal with the Rohingya refugee crisis. To mutually address the issue, the Myanmar and Bangladesh government must discuss the matter with patience focusing on the humanitarian aspect. It is imperative to involve the global community, as Myanmar has continuously failed to solve the Rohingya refugee-related problems (Parnini et al., 2013)). At the time of writing, the bilateral discussion is not sufficient at all, so it is the world community’s ethical responsibility and obligation to solve the Rohingya refugees related problems permanently by taking the necessary steps. The Bangladesh government might want to improve Rohingya refugee’s screening, considering the issues of communicable diseases and criminal records as well. In this scenario, local and international aid organizations can provide additional assistance to facilitate timely humanitarian acceptance of refugees into Bangladesh. The levels of national and international aid can be doubled to curb violent religious extremism and illegal activity in this region. A comprehensive solution to the emerging Rohingya refugee related crisis in Bangladesh can be achieved through the joint efforts of the government of Myanmar and Bangladesh as well as international mediators, i.e., the OIC, UN, and EU. In addition, culturally relevant approaches are needed to tackle the catastrophic mental health issues like chronic anxiety, grief, depression, and post-traumatic stress that are omnipresent in the refugee population. Such efforts, accelerated by suitable political actions, are required to find a constructive and accelerated solution to this ongoing crisis.

Bangladesh has always prioritized municipal law provisions over customary international law where domestic law exists (Faruk & Mian, 2014). In recent years, Bangladesh has been criticized for not opening its doors to the Rohingya refugees who are still coming from Myanmar. If Bangladesh wants to tackle the problems surrounding these refugee issues, it must first enact strong national legislation on refugees and immigration law, which should restrict the uninterrupted flow of refugees. Secondly, it is essential to find out all the unlisted and unregistered Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh. Thirdly, Bangladesh can pursue some bilateral or multilateral treaties with other countries to deal with the refugee influx. Finally, the global community will have to convince the Myanmar government to consider some remedies to refugee-related problems that Bangladesh has been facing for almost twenty years without any anticipated economic and social benefits whatsoever.

In order to solve the Rohingya refugee-related problems and emerging challenges permanently, some proper initiatives should be taken by the concerned authorities. Likely-

• The Bangladesh government continues its energetic diplomacy, particularly with regional partners, to address the Rohingya refugee-related problems.

• A strong and active role should be played by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, which are extra-regional platforms for addressing the crisis.

• An in-depth study should be undertaken by the Bangladesh government to evaluate the short-term, medium-term, and the long-term implications for national or domestic and foreign resources. The Bangladesh government should also estimate all relevant costs (i.e., explicit costs, implicit costs) related to the Rohingya crisis.

• A post-Geneva follow-up meeting should be arranged to prepare for resource mobilization.

• The donors like the World Bank should provide all types of aid to the Rohingya refugees in the form of grants only. The grant and loan components of the World Bank should, therefore, be unpacked.

• Bangladesh government must reinforce security measures in the Rohingya camps.

• Bangladeshi law enforcing agencies have to be vigilant so that the Rohingya refugees do not engage in illegal activities, i.e., drug trade, trafficking, terrorism, etc.

The Rohingya crisis should be viewed as earnestly and practically from financial and communal perspectives. The mass exodus of Rohingya refugees has had a disastrous effect on the Bangladeshi people’s socio-economic stability. Many Bangladeshi nationals have been displaced due to the pressure created by Rohingya refugees. The wage pattern has been dramatically changed in the labor market of the host country, Bangladesh, due to Rohingya refugees. The Rohingya refugees offer cheap labor as they have to earn for their own keep. This has upset the labor market’s wage pattern. The situation has placed Bangladesh’s local laborers in a crucial predicament. If the crisis (created by the Rohingya refugees) is not checked immediately, it will erode the present-day socio-economic structure of Bangladesh and strike at the fabric of this country. The country must be able to rebuild the capability of its national economy, prosperity, interests and defense. The Bangladesh government cannot handle this problem alone. All the global communities and organizations must come forward to help Bangladesh in resolving this crisis. The rights of the Rohingya people should no longer be neglected. Democracy should be restored in Myanmar by rehabilitating the Rohingya people in their own country.

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Source: Author

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Kudrat-E-Khuda (Babu)

Dr. Kudrat-E-Khuda (Babu) is an Associate Professor of Law at Daffodil International University, Bangladesh. Besides, he is an Associate Member at the Centre for the Study of Global Human Movement, University of Cambridge; International Member of Amnesty International; Climate Activist of Greenpeace International and Columnist. Moreover, he is a Global Peace Ambassador at the Global Peace Chain and also a Trainer at the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Foundation Bangladesh. He served as a Visiting Professor at the Lyceum of the Philippines University and also served as Head of Law at different universities of Bangladesh. He participated different national and international conferences, seminars, and workshops at home and abroad along with Germany, Singapore, India, Nepal, Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan. He published a large number of research articles and book reviews in different journals including the journals of Oxford University and Cambridge University Press. He also published the book titled “Company Law with Bangladesh Context” from Germany and another book titled “Know the Law-Obey the Law” from Bangladesh. He is the Editorial Board Member of three refereed and peer reviewed law journals publish from Bangladesh, India and the USA.