AS of December last year, an estimated 655,000 to 700,000 Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh to avoid the persecution of the Myanmar army. There were more than 300,000 Rohingyas already living in Bangladesh who had to flee their homeland in the earlier wave of violence over the last three decades. Bangladesh has been struggling to deal with the crisis. As leaders play a crucial role in resolving the crisis, I would like them to respond to the growing humanitarian crisis at the Bangladesh border. There is no unified approach to the crisis at the moment, which is creating an unstable situation and the Myanmar army is taking advantage of the situation and delaying the process of repatriation. Given the grave and deteriorating nature of the crisis, I urge upon the government to take a common approach based on some key principles and priorities.
Firstly, leaders must show their confidence and steadiness and take complete charge of the situation regardless of their political allegiances. Our government had given shelter to the Rohingyas on purely humanitarian ground and that does not by any means throw our doors open to them for an indefinite period of time.
Secondly, the leaders should have complete knowledge of the situation and its development from time to time. They should know what is happening. Any issue overlooked at the primary stage may turn out to be a grave matter later. One should not ignore even some minor issues or wait for someone else to address them. Any issue left unattended might lead to greater crisis later.
Thirdly, the leaders must be proactive in preventing the crisis. They must discuss among themselves any issue that bothers us and keep the channel of communication open to interact with the Myanmar authorities and look for the best possible alternative to overcome the crisis.
Fourthly, our leaders must identify the core processes for resolving the issue and also develop alternative plans based on accurate and effective flow of information.
Finally, we should not feel disheartened at any negative turn of events if any and let a sense of negativity creep into our mission. Let us not be misguided or led into confusion that would make us take a wrong move.
The scale on which things are progressing now throws a testing time for our unity and solidarity as a nation. We must not hesitate to take necessary steps to ensure that the rights of the Rohingya refugees are protected and secured.
We believe that our leaders can rise up to the occasion and take the challenge by adopting and implementing policies and practices that respect international law and also reflect Bangladesh's commitment to human rights.
Md. Mahmudun Nabi
Department of Business Administration
East West University, Dhaka
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