TOP UN agency leaders have asked the international community to continue supporting the critical needs of 1.2 million people, Rohingya refugees and their local host communities, in south-eastern Bangladesh. In a joint statement, the heads of UN agencies reiterated their commitment to keep working towards safe and sustainable solutions for the Rohingya refugee crisis and noted the UN efforts in Myanmar to help create conditions conducive to their return.
Almost half of the 5.4 lakh refugee children under the age of 12 are missing out on education altogether. The other half only has access to very limited schooling. The UN leaders met families going through the joint government and UNHCR biometric registration process and were receiving documents that confirm their identity in Bangladesh and enhance their right to access services and protection.
But what is needed is a long term plan for the Rohingyas. It is quite clear that Myanmar has no intention of taking them and giving them the rights of full citizens. The Rohingyas understand this quite clearly and have no intention of returning without assurances from the Myanmar government which they will probably never be given.
So Bangladesh is stuck between a rock and a hard place. We have to figure out what to do with the Rohingyas in the long term. It is abundantly clear that simply keeping them in camps is going to raise a generation of Yaba traders and human traffickers. The people in the camps–like most refugees, have to go through sexual and other forms of violence–which is normal for displaced persons as they have a strong sense of insecurity which leads to manifestations of violence.
So a long term plan allowing for Rohingyas to work temporarily as workers or do some other form of labour is essential–we don’t want people growing up with resentment against Bangladesh. Any pressure applied on Myanmar is ultimately going to be futile as long as they have the backing of China and Russia. US and EU sanctions mean nothing as long as those two stay with Myanmar. In the meantime the Rohingyas suffer.
