Please, engage with Myanmar
Rohingya men and women yesterday appealed to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to help improve the conditions in Myanmar's Rakhine State so they can return to their homeland.
"We told the UN delegation that we fled the brutalities of the Myanmar military, but our home is there. We would like to return when the situation in Myanmar improves and our citizenship is granted," said Moulavi Nazir Ahmed, a religious leader at the No 4 extended Rohingya camp in Ukhiya.
He said they were grateful to the Bangladesh government and people for sheltering them and providing humanitarian assistance. But they want to return to their homeland and request Bachelet to engage with Myanmar authorities for a quick repatriation.
Hafez Rashid Ahmed, another Rohingya religious leader, said they could not feel assured by the ongoing discussions between Bangladesh and Myanmar that they can return to Rakhine State with dignity and equal rights.
"We will not return to Myanmar without the supervision of the United Nations," he told The Daily Star.
Around 7.5 lakh Rohingyas crossed into Bangladesh in 2017 amid a brutal military crackdown and took shelter in Cox's Bazar, joining another 3 lakh refugees who fled earlier waves of persecutions in Myanmar.
Bachelet visited the Rohingya Registration Centre operated by the UNHCR at the camp around 8:45am and talked to the Rohingya community people for about 10 minutes.
She then visited a relief distribution centre of the UNHCR and interacted with the refugees and those in charge of the centre for another 10 minutes.
She also wanted to know the situation of the Rohingya camps from around 20 women.
Amina Khatun, one of them, told her that the gender-based violence, including abduction, rape and physical torture of women, has come down in the Rohingya camps now.
However, the women still remain in fear because of some miscreants and law enforcers need to beef up security, she added.
Another Rohingya woman Gol Bahar said they would return to Myanmar if they are granted rights like those of other Myanmar citizens.
At about 10:30am, Bachelet visited the Brac Community Centre at No 4 extended Rohingya camp.
She interacted with nine Rohingya religious leaders and nine youths on repatriation and law and order of the camps where nearly a million refugees are currently living.
Mohammad Yusuf, one of the camp residents, told the UN delegation about the various types of criminal activities including camp-centric organised crimes, murders, abduction, ransom, drug trading, etc. He demanded the authorities take stern actions against the criminals.
At 11:15am, the UN delegation visited a tree plantation project at Extended Camp 20 and education activities at a learning centre at No 4 extended camp and wanted to learn the education methods of the Rohingya children while interacting with the kids, teachers and others concerned.
Bachelet left at 1:00pm, reached Cox's Bazar town at 2:00pm and held a meeting with the officials of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner. She flew to Dhaka at 4:00pm.
The UN official, who arrived on Sunday on her first official visit to Bangladesh, held meetings with four ministers and civil society groups so far.
Today, she is scheduled to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, deliver a speech at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies and hold a press conference in the afternoon before leaving Dhaka for Geneva.
Comments