Rohingyas will have a better life in Rakhine

Rohingyas refugees will have a far better life in Myanmar's Rakhine state, said Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mohammed Mizanur Rahman.

If they agree to return to their motherland, they will have access to better housing, education and medical facilities, he told The Daily Star in an interview on Sunday.

They will also have a National Verification Card (NVC) card, which is a kind of citizenship document, he added after a visit to Rakhine with a 20-member Rohingya delegation on Friday.

The RRRC led a seven-member Bangladesh team along with the Rohingya delegation to two model villages build as a pilot project for the resettlement of the Rohingyas.

Officials said they expect repatriations to begin later this month.

"Here, their children don't have enough opportunities for education. Even the adults are not permitted to go outside the camps to earn," Mizanur said.

He said the Myanmar authority has amended the form of National Verification Card (NVC).

"Rohingyas' main demand is citizenship. The amendment has opened up the possibility for them to attain any of the three kinds of citizenship -- citizenship, associate citizenship or naturalized citizenship," said Mizanur.

Earlier, while filling up the NVC form, the Rohingyas had to mention their racial identity as Bangalee Muslims.

He said when the Rohingyas return to Myanmar, they will get a document of their "citizenship" at the transit centre in Maungdaw.

Mizanur said if the Rohingyas return, Myanmar authorities will provide them with trainings on agriculture, fisheries and livestock. Each family will get fertiliser, seeds and an acre for agriculture.

The RRRC said Myanmar will arrange placement tests for Rohingya children and students and enroll them according to their competence level. Rohingya students will be allowed to enroll in Sittwe University with the authority's approval, he said.

On medical services, Mizanur said Myanmar authorities have set up clinics at villages and a 100-bed hospital in Maungdaw .

About security, the RRRC said Myanmar authorities have set up police and BGP (Border Guard Police) boxes.

"The settlements there are far better than the shanties in the refugee camps here. We visited two villages and saw each of the houses has two rooms and a toilet," he said.

"The Myanmar authority informed us that they will provide money to the Rohingyas to build their own houses. In the primary step, around 3,500 Rohingyas can be resettled there," he added.

The repatriation process will gather pace if the names of the Rohingyas, who are willing to go back to Myanmar, are enlisted through a discussion between Bangladesh and Myanmar, he opined.

Once the repatriation process begins, the other Rohingyas will feel interested in returning, he hoped.