Rohingya refugees: Safe repatriation, rehabilitation still in danger

I returned last week from a trip to the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.  The Rohingya responses against the move for repatriation without creating the right environment in Myanmar should not surprise anyone. The refugees are terrified by the news of repatriation of the first batch of some 2,000 families, which may start as early as mid to end of November 2018. The camp officials prepared a list of 5,000 refugees, but Myanmar authorities vetted only 2,000 refugees for repatriation. Despite official position for voluntary repatriation, those on the list are reportedly very frightened of the dreadful consequences if they are forced to return.

Nevertheless the plan for repatriation is already underway. The recent visits by Myanmar officials to Dhaka and then to Cox's Bazar camps clearly indicate the move for and processes of repatriation. The visit by Myanmar officials to the camps, however, did not go well. The Myanmar Foreign Secretary and the envoy to Bangladesh tried to convince the Rohingya refugees to return and explained that Myanmar was ready to accept them, and that new camps and reception centres have been built near the border for the repatriated Rohingyas. Bangladesh handed over an additional list of 22,000 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar government for verification.

The Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar camps remained unconvinced about the proposed repatriation. A handout distributed by Myanmar officials contained information about repatriation and the position of the Myanmar government. It clearly states that the returning Rohingyas will be given an ID card and housed in camps in Rakhine state without any timeline or proper commitment for resettlement and rehabilitation in their respective villages.

The Rohingyas want to recognise them as an ethnic group with the right to citizenship prior to their repatriation. They also demanded compensation and reparations for violence committed against them by the military and the ultra Buddhist leaders in Rakhine state. There was no answer to the citizenship issue except that the ID card would be a "first step" towards citizenship. Many refugees reject the idea of the ID card for refugees as this is seen as a ploy to divide the refugees and still treat them as foreigners or Bengalis for future persecution.

The current push for repatriation is problematic and could prove dangerous, as the time and conditions do not seem right at all. The situation inside Myanmar has not improved despite international pressures. The government is unwilling to bring those responsible for the atrocities, murders, and rapes to justice. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) still has very limited access for assessment of the situation in Rakhine state. Indeed, Northern Rakhine, where the majority of Rohingya live, has been largely sealed off since the crackdown except for organised government trips for media and senior visiting diplomats. Rohingyas living in and around Maungdaw and those in camps in Rakhine are under the strict surveillance of the Myanmar army.

Furthermore, the repatriation faces strong resistance from the Myanmar Buddhist monks, who conducted the massive campaign of hatred against the Rohingya Muslims and backed the military in its genocidal operations. The Myanmar administration has remained in denial mode arguing that it was a legitimate response to terrorism. The Buddhist leaders want the repatriated Rohingyas to be kept in a secured area along the border with Bangladesh and not allowed to resettle in formerly Muslim-majority areas.

A repatriation agreement was signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar in November 2017 to allow Rohingyas to return to their homeland. Many consider that it was hastily done following the mass exodus and without due attention to many critical issues that would create conditions in Rakhine for repatriation - for instance, (a) bringing those to justice involved in mass rape and extrajudicial killings; (b) ensuring freedom of movement and safety of the Rohingya people, and (c) guarantee of the citizenship. Further, the agreement established a discriminatory rule against the Rohingyas as it allowed Myanmar an upper hand in verification and selection of the returnees violating their rights as citizens of Myanmar. 

The Rohingya refugees held only about two months ago a huge protest meeting in Kutupalong Camp to mark one year anniversary of the exodus in Cox's Bazar.  They recalled fleeing across the border to escape the Myanmar army crackdown. The remembrance took many different forms dealing with atrocities, abuses, their lost homes, lands, and the devastation caused to the Rohingya people and their lives. The memories were still fresh in their minds of their homes and villages being burned down. They fled to Bangladesh for safety and expressed their gratefulness to the Government of Bangladesh for giving them a safe haven. Their longings, however, were for justice and peace and a return to their homeland with dignity and honour.

In reality, however, the hostility towards the Rohingyas remains within the army, the polity and at all levels of the administration of the Myanmar government. There are no signs of any qualitative changes and no regrets for the atrocities and genocide committed by the army. China, which all along provided diplomatic cover to Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis, has recently brokered talks with Bangladesh for speedy repatriation of the refugees. However, the conditions must be right and the repatriation must include all displaced families, and not based on any pick and choose policy or the so-called verification and vetting by the Myanmar government.

According to the UN refugee agency, conditions in Rakhine state are not yet conducive enough for repatriation.  It is still premature and perhaps dangerous to go back to the camps in Rakhine state - fully under military surveillance, and get killed or raped again. Therefore, the international bodies, regional powers and the Government of Bangladesh should work further to create and establish the right conditions for return. The refugees should be allowed to make free and informed choice about their return.  There should not be any force involved in repatriation. Any return or repatriation must be voluntary.

Mohammad Zaman is a social safeguard/resettlement specialist and advisory professor, National Research Centre for Resettlement, Hohai University, Nanjing, China.

[email protected]