Bangladesh: Why are Rohingya refugees fleeing to Indonesia?

DW
Arafatul Islam
November 29, 2023

More than 1,000 Rohingya Muslims have arrived in Indonesia by boat this month. They have been fleeing Bangladesh's overcrowded refugee camps where conditions have worsened. 

An increasing number of Rohingya refugees are leaving the crowded camps of Cox's Bazar on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh and are making the 1,800-kilometer (1,120-mile) sea crossing south to Indonesia in rickety boats.

Gangs, extortion in Bangladesh camps driving Rohingya sea exodus

FRANCE 24
Issued on: 27/11/2023

Lhokseumawe (Indonesia) (AFP) – Holding his son's hand in a temporary shelter in Indonesia, Rohingya Mohamed Ridoi says he made the dangerous 12-day sea journey from massive refugee camps in Bangladesh to escape the pervasive threats of kidnapping, extortion and murder. 

Rohingya refugees say they fled escalating brutality in the camps in and around Cox's Bazar, which hold more than one million people © ZIKRI MAULANA / AFP 

The 27-year-old said he was starting a "peaceful life" in a temporary shelter in Indonesia's western Aceh Province, where more than 1,000 Rohingya people have arrived this month, the largest such influx since 2015.

About 250 Rohingya Refugees in Aceh Sent back to sea

The Jakata Post
Friday, November 17, 2023

Newly arrived Rohingya refugees are stranded on a boat after the nearby community decided not to allow them to land after giving them water and food in Pineung, Aceh province on November 16, 2023. (AFP/Amanda Jufrian)

About 250 Rohingya refugees in an overcrowded wooden boat have been turned away from Aceh and sent back to sea, residents said Friday.

Shifting global attention signals catastrophe for Rohingya refugees

ARAB NEWS
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim
November 05, 2023

Rohingya refugees walk towards the Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh after fleeing from Myanmar. (AFP/File)

In the midst of turmoil in the Middle East, the world’s attention has been understandably preoccupied. Yet, there are corners of the globe where human suffering is unseen and happening in slow motion. The Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh is one such tragedy. For years, Medecins Sans Frontieres has been a lifeline for Rohingya refugees, providing essential medical services to this vulnerable population. However, MSF has now reached a breaking point in several areas, and the consequences of this will have long-lasting, devastating effects on the Rohingya and place an even heavier burden on Bangladesh.

China-Mediated Plan to Repatriate Rohingya Refugees to Burma Advances Despite Fears of More Violence

DEMOCRACY NOW!
Nov 01, 2023

Burma is formalizing efforts to repatriate Rohingya refugees who’ve fled genocide and persecution since 2017. Burmese officials met with Rohingya refugee families in Bangladesh Tuesday to discuss the repatriation plan, which was negotiated by Burma, Bangladesh and China back in April. Burma has said it’s ready to accept the return of some 3,000 Rohingya refugees by December. But refugees have refused to go back, fearing further violence. Rohingya leaders said certain demands should be met, including resettlement to their own land and being granted citizenship. Rohingya community members have also said they’ve been threatened into accepting repatriation, while Burmese officials claim the move would be voluntary. About 1 million Rohingya refugees live in Bangladesh. 

Link : Here

UN refugee chief says Rohingya who fled Myanmar must not be forgotten during other world crises

The Final Call
AP
October 24, 2023

BANGKOK—The UN High Commissioner for Refugees urged the international community on October 17 not to forget the plight of ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in the midst of many other world crises. More support is needed to help the displaced Rohingya and also relieve the burden on the countries hosting them, High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said.

Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees must not be forgotten during other world crises, U.N. refugee chief says

NBC News
The Associated Press
Oct. 18, 2023,

Rohingya refugees at a camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in January.Fabeha Monir for NBC News

BANGKOK — The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees urged the international community not to forget the plight of ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in the midst of many other world crises on Tuesday. More support is needed to help the displaced Rohingya and also relieve the burden on the countries hosting them, High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said.

2023 High-Level Meeting on Rohingya Refugees,'The Road to the Global Refugee Forum'

UNHCR
Bangkok, Thailand
17 October 2023 

More than one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are being hosted in Asia. Bangladesh is hosting some 960,000 Rohingya. 102,000 refugees reside in Malaysia and 18,000 are registered in India.

SAV Explainer: International Law Has Failed to Protect the Rohingya Refugees

South Asian Voice
Written by Himel Rahman
October 10, 2023

On 25 August 2023, 1.3 million Rohingya refugees residing in southeastern Bangladesh observed ‘Genocide Day.’ This marked the 6th anniversary of their mass expulsion from northern Rakhine by the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar Armed Forces. The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted ethnic minority groups in the world and the international community has so far failed to uphold their rights, allowing flagrant violations of international law.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face new crisis as funding diminishes: UN

Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
2023-09-27

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, now face a dire situation as aid funding diminishes, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

The Rohingya, who have faced repeated climate shocks since their exodus from Myanmar seven years ago, now face hunger, deepening their vulnerabilities, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh say living conditions worse than in Myanmar: Report

THE STRAIT TIMES
Tan Hui Yee
Indochina Bureau Chief
23 Sept 2023

The Rohingya refugees said living in camps fenced in by barbed wire and guarded checkpoints made it difficult to even move around within the camps in Bangladesh's Cox Bazar district. PHOTO: ST FILE

BANGKOK - A brutal military crackdown in 2017 forced over 700,000 Rohingya to flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh. But severe movement curbs, violence and extortion these Muslims now face in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps are making some so desperate that they are thinking about suicide, according to a report released on Friday.

Cox’s Bazar is a town on the south-east coast of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh hosts about one million Rohingya refugees who have dim prospects of returning home after a February 2021 military coup plunged Myanmar into turmoil.

Expanded Solutions and Enhanced Resilience: A Multi-Stakeholder Pledge for Rohingya Refugees

 

 

 

UK provides £3,000,000 of new humanitarian support for Rohingya refugees

GOV.UK

From: British High Commission Dhaka
Published12 September 2023

This funding will help refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char access healthcare, clean water, hygiene and sanitation services, and cooking fuel.

 

Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), has announced that the UK will provide £3,000,000 (around 42 crore taka) of new funding through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char.

OIC Urges Global Action for Safe Return of Rohingya Refugees

NEWS GHANA
August 27, 2023 

Rohingya refugees and humanitarians have faced unprecedented challenges in 2023, including fires, cyclones, and ongoing threats of monsoon-related disasters, putting their resilience to the test. Photo: IOM

August 25, 2023 marked the sixth anniversary of genocide against Rohingya Muslims and their forced mass displacement and other communities from Myanmar’s Rakhine State and the beginning of huge refugee influx of these people to Bangladesh.

The OIC stands with the victims and survivors of this human tragedy and reiterates its commitment to pursue justice and accountability for the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military, especially at the International Court of Justice.

Rohingya refugees fled Myanmar only to ‘live in fear’ in India

Aljazeera
By Vipul Kumar
Published On 17 Aug 2023

In Nuh, the only Muslim-majority district in the state of Haryana, Rohingya refugees live in fear of violence and detention.

Children playing in one of the two Rohingya camps in Nuh [Vipul Kumar/Al Jazeera]

 

Nuh, India – Abdul Jabbar, a Rohingya refugee living in a camp 80km (50 miles) from New Delhi, went to a nearby store earlier this month to find out what was keeping his 14-year-old son, who had left hours earlier to buy powdered pepper for that night’s meal.  

 

Bangladesh police accused of abusing Rohingya refugees

DW

Arafatul Islam
16 August 2023

Rights groups say the Armed Police Battalion is committing arbitrary arrests, torture and harassment of Rohingya refugees living in precarious conditions in Cox's Bazar's overcrowded settlements. 

The Armed Police Battalion is a specialized combat unit of the Bangladesh police force

 

Rohingya people living in refugee camps in the Bangladeshi city of Cox's Bazar are being arbitrarily detained, beaten and tortured by members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) — a specialized combat unit of the Bangladesh police force — revealed an investigation by the human rights NGO Fortify Rights

Scores of Rohingya refugees drown in a boat capsizing in the Bay of Bengal

VTICAN NEWS
By Edoardo Giribaldi
14-08-2023

Rohingya people in Myanmar (Reuters)

17 people died and some 30 are still missing after their boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal. The authorities report that the exact time and the causes of the incident are still unknown.

Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar pin new hope on OIC support

ARAB NEWS
SHEHAB SUMON
August 13, 2023

A joint delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees conducts a humanitarian visit to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh from Aug. 6 to 11. (UNHCR)

• Rohingya refugees believe organization can ‘help us more’ as largest platform of Muslim ummah
• Joint OIC, UN visit seen as ‘positive contribution’ to keeping Rohingya issue at top of global agenda

DHAKA: Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar have sought support from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as they continue to face uncertainties about their future compounded by a massive cut in UN food rations this year.

Rohingya Refugees Wary as China Develops Plan for Repatriation

VOA
Ingyin Naing
August 03, 2023 

Two Rohingya children at the sprawling Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, June 9, 2023. (Noor Hossain/VOA)

Rohingya refugees living in squalid and sprawling camps in Bangladesh are casting a skeptical eye on a Chinese initiative to facilitate their return to Myanmar, where they were subjected to a campaign of murder and burning by the same military forces that now rule the country.

"We want to return home. However, under this pilot scheme, the Myanmar military will confine us in camps. They won't allow us to go back to our homes and villages," Aung Myaing, a Rohingya relief volunteer at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, told VOA by phone.

India police arrest 74 Rohingya refugees in latest crackdown

Aljazeera
25 Jul 2023

The arrested include 14 women and five children living in six districts of Uttar Pradesh state ‘after crossing the border illegally’, police said. Rohingya baby dies in detention in Indian-administered Kashmir

Indian police say they have arrested 74 Rohingya refugees for living “illegally” in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in a move activists condemned as an arbitrary crackdown on people fleeing violence.

The members of the mainly Muslim Rohingya community were detained in six towns and cities in the state and 10 of the refugees were juveniles, police said on Monday.