Refugees Plea Bangladesh to Stop Anti-Mobile Operation

Jadimura, TEKNAF: Rohingya refugees plea Bangladeshi government to stop anti-mobiles violent operation started at camps No. 26 and 27 located in Shalbagan, Jadimura of Teknaf.

In several operations conducted last Friday in Shalbagan camps hundreds of refugees were stopped and checked forcefully. If mobile phones, SIM cards or any sort of communication devices are found in anyone’s possession, it’s either snatched away, seized or broken into pieces, according to eyewitnesses and victims.

The source also mentioned that many passersby were chased in a chaotic manner and assaulted by the camp authorities if they wanted to avoid physical screening. The operation finally caused loss of hundreds of communication devices from the refugees.

A refugee (name not mentioned for security reason) pleas “We were mercilessly beaten, torture, and killed in Burma. So we fled to Bangladesh to seek refuge, not to harm them.”

“If we are ill-treated here, where is our destination and what is our fate?” wept the refugee.

Answering the question “why is Bangladesh acting so?”, an observer said, “the gathering of refugees on 25^th August for the commemoration of 2^nd genocide remembrance anniversary shocked many people and was misunderstood that such a huge function could take place and organized by means of social media and mobile network facilities. It may be thinking that this kind of facilities may cause a delay in the repatriation of refugees.”

He continued “the 25^th August gathering was totally misunderstood. Actually this was (organized) to let people where their home is and that they must go back to home and the home is their final destination. It’s never to egg on them to remain in the camps or to delay their return.”

“It is also possible that Bangladeshi government may be thinking that access to mobile network helps refugees involve in illegal activities or at least it could help them take united decision on how and when to return back home. Some other interpreted it as security threat.” he added.

“As a matter fact, the mobile phones, social media and internet network facilities contributed in reducing and stopping crimes and illegal activities. Because it’s easier to take action if anything unwanted is about to occur. Otherwise it was impossible to stay safe in such a dense population. If there is no network, criminals will be active more behind the scenes.”

Either the refugees have access to mobile network or not, this time they look determinant not to repeat the post-repatriation history of 1978 and 1992-3.

Surely the fate of these miserable refugees is at the hands of Bangladesh and Bangladeshi cooperation can only put an end to the long-standing problem of Naf shores. As long as Myanmar ambushes behind the NVC, refugees believe they won’t be safe in their homeland.