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More and more Rohingya refugees are becoming human trafficking victims while pursuing their dreams of finally getting out of the camps in Cox's Bazar and hopes of jobs, better food and settling down at a new home with their families.
An investigation and recent visit to some of the Rohingya camps in different areas of the coastal district have unearthed much disconcerting information about trafficking.
Traffickers are luring women with the promise of taking them to Malaysia and other countries for free while family members are left in the dark before their departure. In most cases, the identities of the traffickers remain unknown.
The story of Jannat (pseudonym) is one such case. The 22-year-old widow lived at Camp No 19 in Ukhiya’s Balukhali with her five-year-old son, mother, younger sister and brother. Out of the blue, Jannat’s mother Rahima (pseudonym) received a phone call one day from Jannat, who said she has left with her son by trawler for Malaysia after striking a deal with a broker.
A few days later, Jannat again called her mother and said the trawler had run out of food and petrol and was adrift at sea. The broker was in the trawler too and nobody knows what to do. At the time, the vessel was somewhere near Indonesia, Jannat had said citing the broker.
Since then, 25 days have passed. Talking to The Business Post, Rahima, 45, said she is yet to find any trace of her daughter. “She didn’t say anything to me before leaving. We don’t have any money. She didn’t take any gold jewellery. I don’t know why the broker would take her for free.
“Jannat told me over the phone that they have promised to give her a job, better food and even get her married. But she could not say the name or any details of the broker. I don’t even know how they managed to take my daughter away,” Rahima said with tears in her eyes.
Along with Jannat, many men and women she knew were also in that trawler. Such incidents have become frequent nowadays in the camps. Sometimes the traffickers take someone alone and sometimes a group of people.
Serious increase
According to the UN refugee agency, there has been a significant increase in Rohingyas making risky boat journeys from Myanmar and Bangladesh to other Southeast Asian countries in search of a life better than the refugee camps in Rakhine state and Cox’s Bazar.
UN data says an estimated 1,920 mostly Rohingya people — about 119 of whom were later reported dead or missing — left Myanmar and Bangladesh by sea between January and November this year, compared with just 287 in 2021.
ALSO READ - Navy rescues over 100 Rohingyas along Sri Lankan coast
Last week, the Sri Lankan navy rescued more than 100 Rohingya from Myanmar on a boat adrift off the Indian Ocean island’s northern coast, as members of the Muslim minority continue to escape violence in Myanmar and hardship in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, reported Reuters.
Meanwhile, two days ago, two Rohingya activist groups said up to 20 people have died of hunger or thirst on another boat carrying at least 100 Rohingyas that has been stranded at sea for two weeks off India's coast.
It’s unclear if the boat, which was in Malaysian waters at the time, drifted or was towed to Malaysian waters or if India attempted to provide aid. It’s also unclear whether Jannat was on this boat or another vessel that is yet to come under the authorities’ radar.
If the second possibility were to happen, then the chance of the passengers of Jannat’s boat is slim to none as it’s been nearly a month since the vessel ran out of fuel and food.
Last Tuesday, the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights urged regional governments to launch a search and rescue operation for a boat that is carrying hundreds of Rohingyas and has been adrift for weeks in waters off the coasts of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India, according to media reports.
Left helpless
Data from the Anti-Trafficking Working Group (ATWG), a group of 15 organisations including IOM, UNHCR, and local and foreign NGOs that work against trafficking in the Rohingya camps, says the trafficked persons face labour exploitation in most cases.
Rahim (pseudonym), 50, told The Business Post that his 18-year-old nephew Dulal (pseudonym) and Dulal’s brother-in-law, who lived at a camp in Balukhali, left for Malaysia through traffickers about a year ago but were caught by the Myanmar police. Dulal is now in jail for two years in Yangon and eight months have already passed.
He said there were eight other people with them — six from the same Balukhali camp and three from different camps in Jamtoli. They were also caught and are now in jail in Myanmar.
Rahim said, “At the beginning, my nephew sent a video, in which he said if he pays police Tk 1,000 per month, he will live in a bit better condition in jail. He also gave me a mobile number to send the money to. I have been saving and selling some relief items and sending him the money through a mobile banking shop at Teknaf.
“However, there have been no messages in the last four months. But I didn’t stop sending money every month.”
In such trafficking cases, the Rohingyas are left in a helpless situation to get redressal. Most of the time, they avoid filing complaints with the authorities fearing for the safety of their family. Many of the refugees do not even know exactly who to complain to.
Why no formal complaints?
According to Rohingyas and NGO officials working in the camps, such incidents have become frequent but most remain unknown because the refugees tend to avoid complaining. If someone talks, traffickers go for retribution and have even killed the complainant in some cases.
A Rohingya camp, depending on its size, is divided into several blocks and each block is divided into sub-blocks. Rohingyas living at a sub-block are led by a “Majhi” while another “Majhi” leads a block and the sub-blocks under it. They all report to the “Head Majhi,” who is in charge of the whole camp and coordinates with the government on behalf of the refugees.
Camp rules say that a complaint must be lodged first with the Majhi, who is selected from among the Rohingyas. According to official estimates, nearly 10 lakh Rohingyas are currently sheltered at 33 camps in Cox's Bazar.
Jannat’s mother said she had told their Majhi about her daughter. “Nothing can be done now, he said. Since he couldn’t do anything, I didn’t dare to tell anyone else.”
Talking to The Business Post, the Majhi of a sub-block under Camp No 19 said, “Many men and women have left either from here or from Myanmar by trawlers. I have asked many of them to not go but what can I do if they leave in secret?”
NGO officials said that there are multiple active armed groups inside the camps that often kill people to protect their interests. Rohingyas face death threats even if they try to talk to the authorities about any irregularities or trafficking.
In some cases, the victims' families do not want to tell anyone while sometimes the Majhis themselves are found involved in trafficking. In many cases, the Majhis also avoid taking any action out of fear of facing the wrath of the traffickers.
‘Actual number much higher’
Arifur Rahman, chief executive of ATWG member Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), said, “Many human trafficking cases go unreported. Many events have not even come under our radar. The Majhis also often misguide Rohingyas so the incidents are not reported. The actual number is much higher.”
“The Rohingyas want to get out of this miserable situation anyhow. Many victims or their families do not want to report the trafficking incidents to the authorities for safety reasons. They feel that this could lead to arrest or coming under surveillance, which would make it difficult to make an escape attempt later,” he said.
"There are so many problems with the Rohingyas’ lives and livelihoods that neither the UN nor the government can give as much importance to the issue of trafficking as they should. Since trafficking is a transborder issue, international laws are also being violated. The government and law enforcement agencies should take more effective steps to prevent trafficking,” he said.
Arifur added, “More support is needed to make the incident reporting process more effective and make legal aids more available. Those who will take support and those who will provide support — both sides will need to play an active role to improve the situation.”
The ATWG learned about the trafficking of 55 people between January and March this year. Of them, 29 were men and 11 were women. There were also 10 minor boys and five minor girls — all under the age of 18.
Fifty-one of them have left to find a job and earn money, one went to pursue education and the other three for various reasons, according to ATWG.
Why put life at risk?
During the recent visits, a large number of male youths and teenagers were seen spending their time idly every day at the teashops or grocery shops inside the camps.
Talking to The Business Post, these youngsters said they are disheartened because they cannot pursue higher education, cannot graduate and get a job to support their families or chase their dreams. “We simply have nothing to do here except sit on our hands,” they said.
Although only a handful of them manage to get hired by NGOs to work inside the camps as translators or liaisons, most of these youths have no prospects.
“We can’t even leave our homes in the camp after dark. There is no future here for us. So why wouldn’t we risk our lives and flee for a chance to take a shot at a better life?” said a 16-year-old teenager who lives at Camp No 4.
“Many people we know have already left chasing that dream but I and some of us could not because the traffickers demand Tk 4-5 lakh,” he said.
Another youth, 24, said, “Once, I manage to sneak out of the camp and worked on the outside as a day labourer. I earned Tk 7,000 after 20 days of honest and hard work. I bought a nice shirt with some of that money. Do you know what happened after that?
“The camp’s security guards saw my shirt and asked where I got it. They said I cannot have that level of smartness. Then they beat me. I don’t care how big the risk is. The moment I get the chance, I’ll leave this camp,” he said while breaking down.
Refugee, Relief, and Repatriation Commissioner Md Mizanur Rahman said, “These people are unfortunately stateless and their future is uncertain. You cannot keep human beings tied down for a long time like this. They are bound to take risks at some point to pursue a better life.”
What can be done?
Ashish Damle, the Oxfam Country Director in Bangladesh, also told The Business Post that Oxfam has been working closely with the Rohingyas and the host community to identify the causes behind the rise in human trafficking incidents and find out ways to prevent them through its protection program.
A member of the Protection Working Group and the ATWG, Oxfam has facilitated dialogue events with the camp authorities and Rohingya representatives to share the causes of irregular movements among both young Rohingya men and women and discuss the roles of both community and support from authorities, he said.
The ATWG reports that most victims of human trafficking are young and frustrated by the lack of opportunities in the camps. They attempt to leave to become self-reliant and support their families. Prevention and control of human trafficking are not possible without increasing livelihood opportunities for refugees, no matter how many awareness campaigns are organised, he stressed.
Apart from the lure of marriage, jobs and freedom, some other reasons Rohingyas engage in trafficking include escalating violence and restrictions on movement in the camps.
Damle said, “Protection remains a significant concern for the refugees and the host community. Under the protracted crisis conditions, we urge the government to create more space for the protection actors and work in collaboration to analyse this protection trend and identify the impact on both communities.
“To prevent human trafficking, programmes to utilise the energy of the youths productively could be crucial. As for the international community, it is important that they realise the changing protection scenario of the Rohingya population. The international lobby must continue pressuring Myanmar for creating the favourable ground for successful repatriation, which can give the Rohingyas the sense of security that is required to prevent desperate negative coping actions.”
Rohingyas have been coming to Bangladesh from Myanmar since 1970. Back in the 1990s, the camps in Cox’s Bazar used to be the home to around 2.5 lakh refugees. About 20,000 of them were later repatriated.
However, more than 7.5 lakh Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017 following a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state that included mass killings, rapes and burning of villages.
