In August 2017, thousands of scared Rohingya men, women and children began to flee to Bangladesh. They were running from the massacres, tortures, sexual assaults and other forms of human rights abuses being carried out by Myanmar army officials in Rakhine state. Till date, nearly 700,000 Rohingyas have sought shelter in Bangladesh and are residing in different temporary camps in Cox's Bazaar. This number has added to the earlier number of nearly 250,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled during previous waves of violence against them. As a result, Bangladesh now has a burden of nearly one million Rohingya refugees.
Bangladesh provided shelter to them on humanitarian grounds and upon request from other countries and international bodies. Bangladesh had also maintained that the repatriation process of the Rohingyas should happen soon. But the repatriation process is yet to start.
It seems like Myanmar government is playing hide-and-seek with the issue. They are blaming Bangladesh for delaying the process, which is a lie. Bangladesh is facing serious challenges as it has limited resources.
The international media have recently reported that Myanmar is making temporary shelter at the moment. Once the repatriation process starts, the Rohingyas will be housed in these temporary camps. After ascertaining certain things, they will be rehabilitated to Rakhine state. The Rohingyas, however, fear that punitive actions will be taken against them in the temporary camps in Myanmar. They are not happy with the process and do not seem interested.
The Myanmar government needs to guarantee citizenship to the Rohingyas, stop killings and human rights abuses by the army and general population and integrate the Rohingyas into their society. Myanmar should also speed up the repatriation process.
If Myanmar fails to do these, the international community can take stern actions against the country. International communities should understand that the Rohingya refugee crisis is not only Bangladesh's concern, but a concern for the whole world.
Mohammad Zonaed Emran
MNC Banking Unit, MITS
Mutual Trust Bank Limited
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