Tin Theing
There might have been a time when our people talked about which group or which leader had done the most for the Rohingya. Sadly, times have changed. These days, Rohingya people discuss which group has caused the most harm to their own community.
Some point fingers at the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) led by Ata Ullah, whose reckless and poorly planned attacks came just a day after the Kofi Annan Commission report was released. These attacks on Burmese border posts gave the Tatmadaw the excuse to launch a genocidal blitzkrieg on the Rohingya population, leading to the current crisis.
Many, especially in recent times, blame the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) led by Master Ayoub, which has earned infamy for robbing innocent Rohingya refugees or extorting money from them by threatening to hand them over to the Bangladesh APBN, a police outfit notorious for abusing refugees.
Others lay blame on the old fighters of the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front for their inability to launch a successful insurgency against the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army. Thus, the blame game continues.
I will also join this blame game because there are undoubtedly people inside this community who are leading us all to disaster. However, I will point my finger at a different outfit—a nameless one. They have their bases in the hills near the Leda or Nayapara refugee camps.
This is a very well-organized gang of criminals, with many of their members likely hailing from these two camps, though they may also have recruits from other camps. Without a doubt, they are well-connected with local Bengali people, indicating they have been refugees for some time.
Most of their victims are Rohingyas, kidnapped for ransom. However, a significant number of their victims are local Bengalis from the Hnila area. This group maintains an aura of terror, and in numerous cases, they have killed people whose families couldn’t come up with the ransom money in time.
They have sent a clear message to both Bengalis and Rohingyas: they are not bluffing; they mean what they say. One of the most heartbreaking cases was the murder of an eight-year-old daughter of a farmer.
While it is true that the group has Bengali agents, they are led by people from their own community. Many of them are hiding among the refugee population in Leda and Nayapara, and numerous Rohingyas are tasked with providing food, shelter, and other logistical support for this group in the hills. Sadly, Rohingya refugees have remained tight-lipped about this outfit, and the community as a whole is unwilling to accept responsibility for the actions of this group.
Of course, the actions of a few should not be blamed on an entire community, but unfortunately, this is often what happens in the modern world.
Today, most Bengalis see Rohingyas as murderous thugs. No group is more responsible for this reputation than this well-organized kidnapping ring in the hills southwest of Leda and Nayapara. The Hnila region is now known as the kidnapping capital of Bangladesh, thanks to this group. Protests are increasing in Cox’s Bazaar every day. While the protesters don’t single out specific attackers, they blame the entire Rohingya community.
The Rohingya are a refugee community, with the majority residing in this very zone. Having bad relations with the locals will one day lead to a catastrophe with unimaginable consequences for this already beleaguered community. Strangely enough, it is the Rohingyas who are mostly kidnapped by this group. But that is not how the host community will perceive the situation.
The Rohingya have long been on the receiving end of atrocities. They need to fight back, and they need to do it quickly. This can begin with addressing the kidnapping ring in the hills southwest of Nayapara and Leda camps. Otherwise, a situation may arise that will make life intolerable for Rohingyas in the host country.
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