25 August 2022
Today is August 25. It has been 5 years since the Rohingya arrived in Bangladesh through the Ukhia-Teknaf border. In the face of torture of the Myanmar Army in Rakhine, the Rohingya fled into Cox’s Bazar from this day in 2017. The number of Rohingyas who have taken refuge in the country, including those already in Bangladesh, exceeds 1.1 million people.
In this five years period various initiatives have been taken to return the Rohingyas to their own country, but it has not worked out. As always, the Rohingya say that they are interested in returning to Myanmar if they get a safe environment and citizenship.
Salamat of E-Block of Madhurchhara Rohingya Camp in Ukhia said, “I have been living in captivity for 5 long years. But I am waiting to return home with full hope. Repatriation will be very easy if international pressure can be put on the Myanmar government.”
Rahamat Ullah, a Rohingya fromCamp-4, said, “We want full citizenship of Myanmar. I want safety of life. I want to move freely in my country. I want to educate my children. If these facilities are confirmed, we will quickly return to Myanmar. Otherwise I will off my life in Bangladesh.”
Samsun Nahar of F-11 Block of Madhurchhara Rohingya Camp-4 in Ukhia said, “We can’t trust Myanmar. They are cheaters. They say one thing today and another thing the next day. They change policy in a moment. Even in the face of so much pressure from the international community, they have not bowed down yet. I don’t believe they will take us back. If take, then our citizenship issue is far from the question, we will have to spend our lives as prisoners in camps of Rakhine built after 2017 genocidal campaign.”
Rohingya leader of Balukhali camp said, ”5 years are passing today, we don’t see any changes in our fate. Myanmar Army killed so many people in Rakhine but they are not getting any justice. The international community is very silent today.”
On the night of August 25, 2017, the Myanmar army started mass murder, torture, rape and arson against the Rohingya population in Rakhine state after accusing them of attacking the checkpoint of the border guard forces.
Since the beginning, under the supervision of the Bangladesh government and UNHCR, various international organizations have been providing food and medical aid to these Rohingyas. On behalf of the government, the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission continues to administer the 34 refugee camps. After the infiltration of these Rohingyas, the Bangladesh government first took the initiative to repatriate the Rohingyas through bilateral meetings with Myanmar. But, the repatriation of Rohingyas could not be started due to various diplomatic reasons.
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