Crime surge in Rohingya camps feared as WFP cuts per-head food grant to half

COX'S BAZAR, Mar 09: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has initiated a move to cut food aid for Rohingya refugees by a large amount in Bangladesh.

The Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission fears that the reduction in food allocation by more than half for the refuges could lead to a food crisis and eventual spate of criminal activities.

The monthly grant for a Rohingya refugee will be reduced to $6 from $12.50 in April this year. Under this circumstance, the WFP has sought emergency fund for food aid for the Rohingya.

According to government account, there are 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, of whom 10,5,520 are registered. There are 204,274 families.

Around 52 per cent of the refugees are children, 44 per cent are adults and 4 percent are elderly. Of them, 49 per cent are men and 51 percent are women. More than 30,000 children are born every year in the refugee camps.

A review of the history of the Rohingya infiltration shows that 200,000 Rohingya people infiltrated into Bangladesh in 1977-78, of whom, 90,000 returned.

In 1991, 250,877 Rohingyas entered the country, of whom, 236,599 returned. Another lot of 87,000 Rohingyas arrived between 2012 and 2016.

Afterwards 850,000 Rohingyas arrived at once in 2017. Later 64,718 more Rohingya people entered Bangladesh in 2024.

Rohingyas said that they came to Bangladesh after being tortured in Myanmar. If the food allocation is reduced after so many years, how will they survive? So far, they were somehow able to survive with $12. Now if it is reduced to $6, the food crisis will become extreme, they fear.

Rohingyas also said that if they receive $6 food aid, people in their community will die of hunger.

Children will also suffer acutely. Hungry people will get involved in crime, and theft and robbery will increase in the camps, it is feared.

Mohammad Jobayer , chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, said that with an allocation of $6, only Tk23 food will be provided per day, which is not enough for even one meal. This may cause the Rohingya to become reckless and engage in criminal activities and flee the camps.

There are more than 500,000 local people in Ukhia and Teknaf in Cox's Bazar. They fear that if food aid is reduced, crime will increase among the Rohingyas, which will affect the locals.

Local residents say that the Rohingya will come out of the camps for food, theft and robbery will increase, and local people will be in danger.

"We, the locals, are already in danger and panic. In the meantime, if the food aid for the Rohingya is reduced again, the situation will worsen," said a local resident.

Md Shamsu-douja, additional commissioner of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission, said that if food aid is reduced, Rohingyas will be at risk of nutritional and health problems. If they leave the camps in search of work, it will affect the locals.

The WFP said that food assistance for more than a million Rohingyas is at risk due to lack of fund. Food allocation will have to be halved if new funds are not received immediately.

The organisation says that the Rohingyas are completely dependent on humanitarian assistance. If food assistance is reduced, they will be in extreme crisis.

WFP Country Director Dom Scalpelli said, "It is more important than ever to stand by the Rohingyas. They have nowhere to go, they have no livelihood opportunities. Food assistance is their only means of survival."

In 2023, food assistance was reduced from $12 to $8 due to a fund crisis, which led to rise in child malnutrition by 15 per cent.

Later, food aid was increased after fund was received from somewhere.

The WFP says if food aid is reduced further, women and children will be at risk of trafficking, domestic violence and exploitation.

Child labour and early marriage may increase, as families are forced to make difficult decisions to survive.

Refugees around the world often suffer from a lack of aid. Lack of fund and growing demand could put the Rohingya and other refugee communities in dire straits.

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