DhakaTribune
They can contribute
The economics of sheltering the Rohingya The world now has 22.5 million refugees along with 65.6 million forcibly and internally displaced people and 10 million stateless people. Being stateless is the biggest violation of human rights itself, as Article 15 of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948” as well as Article 8(1) and 9 of the “Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness 1961” have ensured the “right to nationality.”
Article 17 of the “Refugee Convention 1951” has driven the contracting states to provide the refugees wage-earning employments and Article 3 of “Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948” has ensconced the security of a person irrespective of identity.
Despite these solemn directions of international conventions, the condition of refugees, IDPs, and stateless people remain vulnerable. Millions of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Myanmar are starving in the refugee camps of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Kenya, and Bangladesh, respectively.
These countries are grappling to secure basic amenities for the refugees, but flinch to meet the decree levied by various international conventions. Bangladesh has been doing pretty much the same after the largest Rohingya exodus, thanks to the atrocities carried out by Myanmar army.
Bangladesh has tried to foster connectivity through BCIM, a community of Bangladesh, China, India, and Myanmar as well as Bimstec (the Bay of Bengal Initiative of Multi-sectoral, Technical, and Economic Cooperation) to ensure sustainable developments of the refugees.
Until the resettlement of refugees is ensured, Bangladesh, a developing country,must provide them with basic necessities, which is a Herculean task for a country such as ours. But the question is whether Bangladesh will be able to take care of the basic needs of the more than million refugees who currently reside here in the long run.
Bangladesh may look to the policies of nations such as Germany, a country which has taken in refugees from five different countries, and done so tactfully and strategically. Germany, being a signatory to the “convention relating to Status of Refugees 1951,” has adopted the objectives of the convention in its laws.
The definition of refugees enumerated in the aforesaid Convention’s Article-1(A) was inherited in Section 3 of the “German Asylum Act 2008” (amended in 2016 by the Federal Law Gazette). German government has two special Acts ie the “Residence Act 2008” and the “Asylum Act 2008”which aims to administer and safeguard the refugees.
The latter deals with the granting and denial of refugee status and the former deals with the entry, exit, stay, and employment of the foreigners in general. In Germany, refugees receive a three-year residence permit through which they come under the supervision of the government.
As they remain registered with the identity inflicted by the German government, they can avail employment facilities to support and assist themselves. This allows refugees to remain under the supervision of the German government while continuing to contribute to the economy and provide for themselves.
A country can’t feed more than a million people with emotions alone. Laws must be created to acknowledge refugees and permit them to stay with the means of supporting themselves with employment.
Bangladesh can, for example, ensure that the Rohingya engage themselves in income-generating activities. These are the activities by which small groups engage themselves to generate livelihood from diversified spheres, such as cultivating lands, poultryfarming, hatchery, etc and to shift the burden away from the host country.
Bangladesh has already taken the right first step by ensuring biometric registration for the Rohingya. Now, security inspectors can be assigned with the collaboration of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) so that the Rohingya can get oriented with the laws of the country to ensure that these laws are not violated.
Then, it can create income-generating activities which best accommodate the economy and the environment of Bangladesh. Furthermore, they may be given the facilities required for small enterprises with the cooperation of UNHCR and other NGOs to ensure that these activities reach their full potential.
The government can initiate community dialogue programs to increase social cohesion between the refugees and local communities to ensure the free flow of activities, which will also help to increase socioeconomic integration.
For this to be successful, the government would need to strengthen the relevant administrative and executive institutions, staff, advocacy groups, NGOs, and human rights bodies to effectively implement the aforementioned initiatives.
Moreover, every human being deserves a respectable life, irrespective of nationality and identity. To ensure progressive and sustainable lives for the Rohingya, Bangladesh along with other international agencies may work towards forming policies which ensure their livelihoods and protection until resettlement.
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