Frustrated Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh desperate to move to 3rd countries

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Amid stalled efforts to repatriate Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to Myanmar, many people from the persecuted ethnic minority are seeking a way out and playing into the hands of human smugglers.

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees take perilous journeys on boats through the Bay of Bengal to reach Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Many are detained by the border authorities; others perish at sea. Often at times, the refugees lose their entire life savings in making these journeys.

Bangladesh is providing shelter to 1.2 million Rohingya refugees on its southeast coast of Cox’s Bazar since a refugee influx in 2017 in the face of a Myanmar military crackdown.

On the 5th anniversary of the exodus on August 25, there is growing frustration in the camps which house the world’s most persecuted minority, as named by the UN.

According to a 2020 UN report, 2,413 Rohingya refugees took risky sea routes to reach a third country from Bangladesh’s refugee camps. At least 218 died or went missing during the journey.

Shattered dreams

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, head of Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust (COAST), a non-profit organization that works for the Rohingya, said that a sense of hopelessness persists in the camps.

Relatives who have settled in Malaysia and Thailand, relatively wealth economies in the Southeast Asia, send money to the refugees, who pay smugglers for the risky journeys, said Chowdhury.

Activists say officials in Bangladesh and Myanmar work in cahoots with smugglers.

“Local people in host community, refugees and people and Myanmar authorities are engaging in the process of trafficking, which results in mass arrests, rape and killing,” said Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, a global network of activists working to raise awareness about the ongoing Rohingya persecution.

Since the military seized power in Myanmar, thousands of Rohingya fleeing by boats and road were arrested and sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor, the activist said.

As most people have failed to escape from the country and are arrested, the smugglers are making a significant profit, he added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s top official for refugees Shah Rezwan Hayat denied claims that Rohingya refugees were leaving the camps in droves through risky sea routes.