by Hafizur Talukdar
The Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, pledged to stand by the oppressed and downtrodden people of the world in his foreign policy. The humanity that our current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has shown to the refugees all over the world, as well as the Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, will be an example to the world. Today, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has earned a reputation in the world court as the ‘Mother of Humanity’. Leading Dutch diplomat magazine headlined their cover report ‘Sheikh Hasina: Mother of Humanity’. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has saved the lives of millions of oppressed people by deciding to open the border with Bangladesh to provide shelter to Myanmar nationals forcibly displaced from Rakhine State in Myanmar.
The government has continued its humanitarian assistance program for the Rohingya, as well as its diplomatic efforts to repatriate them. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina proposed five points in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly and four points in the 74th session to find a lasting solution including resolving the Rohingya crisis. Recently, the largest modern temporary housing facility has been set up in Bhasanchar for more than one lakh Rohingyas.
The number of displaced people is increasing day by day all over the world due to various reasons. The number of displaced people is the highest among the people who have fled their homes. These displaced people are living inhumane lives in the open sky in different camps. Wars, border policy, civil war and racial discrimination are still happening. And many people are being displaced by the violence. The saddest thing in the history of this modern world civilization is that a large number of people have left their homes and are living in exile in another country. And it is these displaced people who are suffering the most. In every corner of the globe, political, military, ethnic and ideological crises are robbing people of their ethnic identity and right to life. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), about 80 million people have now fled their homes. About 26 million people are living dehumanized lives. Most of these displaced people are under 18 years of age. 1 crore people still have no identity. No country is giving them civil rights and recognition. They are not on this planet called Earth. Sustainable development is not possible without this huge population. Because if the human rights of all these refugees are not protected, real sustainable development will be difficult.
The Rohingya are one of the most persecuted and oppressed ethnic groups in the world. The ethnic annihilation of Rohingyas is not a new issue. The planned attacks by the Myanmar army on the Rohingya for more than four decades are not unknown to the world. The Rohingyas from Rakhine State started coming to Bangladesh from Myanmar in 1978 after being persecuted by the country’s army and took refuge there. However, at that time the issue was considered temporary but now it has become a permanent problem. Most recently, from October 2016 and August 2017, Rohingyas re-entered Bangladesh to seek refuge. There are more than 11 lakhs Rohingya refugees in different places including Ukhia, Kutupalong and Teknaf upazilas of Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. All these Rohingyas have been living in permanent and temporary camps for 4 decades. Even Rohingyas are scattered all over the country, according to various newspapers and studies. Rohingyas are still coming to the country due to ethnic violence in Myanmar at different times.
Although Bangladesh is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, it has always stood by the oppressed, downtrodden and oppressed people of the world. One of the examples is our current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Government of Bangladesh has continued its humanitarian assistance and repatriation.
Diplomatic efforts
At present, Rohingyas are living in 34 camps of more than ten thousand acres of deep forest in Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas of Cox’s Bazar district. Under the supervision of the Government of Bangladesh and UNHCR, various international organizations are providing various humanitarian assistance including food and medical care. On behalf of the Government of Bangladesh, the Office of the Commissioner for Refugee Relief and Repatriation is carrying out overall support activities including administrative and security of 34 Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. After the influx of Rohingya refugees, the Bangladesh government first took the initiative to repatriate through bilateral talks with Myanmar. Despite repeated attempts to repatriate Rohingyas, it has not been possible to repatriate them. Moreover, the repatriation of Rohingyas was not possible due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
The government manpower of the country is being used for the management of Rohingya, the overall environment is being damaged and the local people are losing their opportunities. The government is spending on social security and other humanitarian aid. The government is spending a portion of its budget on the humanitarian welfare of the Rohingya. Although the international community is funding their humanitarian assistance program, the government is also spending from its own funds. The government has continued its diplomatic efforts to repatriate Rohingya. The Bangladesh government has continued to provide shelter and humanitarian assistance to the large number of Rohingya who has fled Myanmar at various times. Various government departments and agencies have continued to provide humanitarian assistance directly and indirectly. The Office of the Commissioner for Refugee Relief and Repatriation of the Government coordinates these activities with various government departments/agencies. There are more than 40,000 orphans in the Rohingya camps, about 9,000 of whom have no parents. For the care and protection of these orphans, a joint venture between the Department of Social Services and UNICEF has continued to provide cash assistance to families caring for orphans.
The government has provided temporary accommodation to more than one lakh Rohingyas in Bhasanchar under the Asrayan-3 project. The project in Bhasanchar, Charaishwar Union, Hatia Upazila, Noakhali, provides safe accommodation to the Rohingyas, comfortable living as well as all modern facilities including livelihood facilities. The Bhasanchar Asrayan-3 project has been created for the livelihood of more than one lakh Rohingyas at a cost of around Tk 3,95,000 crore Bangladeshi Taka. The Bangladesh Navy has been tasked with ensuring infrastructure development, afforestation and security to make Bhasanchar habitable. The housing project was implemented to temporarily resettle the Rohingyas on 1,602 acres of the 6,428 acres of usable land on the 13,000-square-kilometer island. Our government is doing its best to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya.
This year’s theme for World Refugee Day-2021was together we heal, learn and shine. At this time of the Corona epidemic, all the refugees in the world will have good health and protection, and one day they too will get back to their normal independent life. This is our wish. The expectation of this World Refugee Day is that the developed and influential countries will play a more responsible role in restoring the fair rights of the refugees of the world. We promise to be more humane to all the refugees in the world and think they are also part of our family. On this day, I hope to protect the human rights of the 80 million refugees living in the open sky and lead a healthy and normal life. Bangladesh shows an example to the whole world in sheltering refugees. Bangladesh shows humanity. The world can learn from Bangladesh. Because there are Afghan refugees, Syrian refugees and so on in the world. The international community must learn from Bangladesh.
