Urgent Solutions Needed for Refugees
A Rohingya refugee girl drinks river water as she waits for a boat to cross the border atthe Naf River in Maungdaw, Myanmar, on Sept. 7.
DHAKA, FRIDAY — There are currently at least 270,000 refugees of Myanmar’s Rohingya ethnicity in refugee camps in Bangladesh. This figure is higher than the previous figure of 164,000 people.
The United Nation High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) said that it had found groups of refugees who were previously unknown and unaccounted for on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan said on Friday, Sept. 8, that the commission urged that aid including clean water, sanitary products and food ingredients be distributed to refugees soon.
The hundreds of thousands of refugees are in urgent need of help as most are extremely tired. “The refugees walked through jungles and mountains and crossed rivers for days to reach the border,” Vivian said.
The violence against the Rohingya people in Rakhine state occurred in the wake of an attack by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants in late August. Myanmar military’s response to the ARSA attack triggered a massive exodus by the Rohingya people.
In order to stop the influx of refugees to Bangladesh, the Bangladeshi authorities are proposing the establishment of a “safe zone” managed by a humanitarian agency. However, it is doubtful that Myanmar would accept the proposal as it has always viewed the Rohingya community as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. If the proposal is rejected, there is no other choice for Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries, than to open a new refugee camp.
Under pressure from the international community, Bangladesh has thus far opened 607 hectares of land for refugee camps near Cox’s Bazaar, near its border with Myanmar. Before entering the camp, refugees must provide their finger stamps for identification.
“The solution to the crisis is in the hands of Myanmar. They need to resolve the problem at its roots. Bangladesh has done everything it can to house the refugees and not to return them to their country of origin,” UNHCR Bangladesh chair Shinji Kubo.
Bangladesh political advisor to the Prime Minister, HT Imam, said the world needed to press Myanmar to cease violence. “They must accept the return of these refugees,” he said.
Malaysia has said that it would house refugees coming by sea. The plan is to temporarily house the refugees until the Rakhine crisis ends. However, the Malaysian coast guard warned that refugees face high risks because of heavy rains forecast for the next few months if they journey by sea.
Solidarity
Concern for the fate of the Rohingya people in the crisis in Myanmar is pouring out in the form of acts of solidarity and fundraising in a number of cities across Indonesia, including Semarang, Padang, Mataram, Palangkaraya, Magelang, Yogyakarta and Malang. In these acts of solidarity, protesters have blasted the violence against the Rohingya people.
The Indonesian government has urged for the immediate resolution to the crisis through the diplomatic forum in ASEAN. At a protest in Magelang, protesters demanded the United Nations to arrest perpetrators of crimes against humanity and bring them to the International Court of Justice.
Self-restraint
Participants of several other solidary actions warned the public not to get emotional and discredit certain groups. What is needed right now is to collect and distribute aid. “Do not let yourself be triggered,” Peace-Pioneering Coordination of Yogyakarta chair Ambar Anto said.
The lack of clear information is among the major concerns regarding the Rakhine crisis. Some have said the crisis is a religious one while others say it was triggered more by economic and political factors. There are concerns that such confusion will have negative impacts for Indonesia as there are groups wishing to bring religious sentiments in their responses to the Rakhine crisis.
Indonesian Ambassador to Myanmar, Ito Sumardi, said he hoped Indonesians would apply self-restraint in giving their sympathies to the victims of the conflict in Rakhine. Excessive protests will only disrupt the conflict resolution process in Myanmar.
“Indonesians should apply self-restraint. Give the government a chance to do its job. Do not do things that are harmful to the resolution process,” Ito said.
Harmful actions, Ito said, included the throwing of a cocktail bomb at the Myanmarese Embassy in Jakarta on September 7. Furthermore, burning Myanmarese flags will not achieve anything. “Because of these things, the Myanmarese government is issuing a protest towards us. If protests harm our good relationship, this will impede the resolution of the Rakhine conflict,” he said.
Clothes and food
The results of fundraising efforts in several regions will be distributed to the Rohingya refugees in the form of clothes, food and medicines. The Padang city administration, for instance, has encouraged locals and mosque congregations to raise funds with a target of Rp 2 billion (US$151,469).
Bandung mayor Ridwan Kamil has also initiated an online fundraising campaign on kitabisa.com and offline through sub-district offices. As of Friday night, Rp 2.2 billion had been collected on kitabisa.com. Combined with the money collected from sub-district offices, the total fund reaches Rp 3 billion.
Jakarta-based humanitarian body Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) has delivered 1,000 aid packages from Indonesia to the Kanzarpara camp in Bangladesh using five trucks. Each package contains rice, oil, dhal (Bangladeshi staple meal), flour and mineral water. The package also has clothes, sanitary products, a tarpaulin and sleeping mat.
A member of the ACT humanitarian team for Rohingya, Rahadiansyah, said refugees were still arriving at the camp on Saturday. Many are starving and in immediate need of food. In addition, refugees also need temporary housing to shelter them from the heavy rains.
Maintaining harmony
West Java Interreligious Harmony Forum chair Rafani Achyar said he regretted the humanitarian tragedy in Rakhine and urged all Indonesians to maintain harmony. West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan shared a similar sentiment in his speech at a local solidarity action.
Banten Governor Wahidin Halim reminded the Banten people not to go to Myanmar. So far, people in several provinces said they would be prepared to go to Myanmar to help the victims of violence. “Just use your logic. What do you want to do there and how could you reach the place? Let’s just push the government to take the necessary steps. It is better to collect aid packages to be distributed there,” he said.
Al-Bantani Grand Mosque prosperity council chair Zaenal Abidin Syu’jai said in Serang, Banten, that assistance should also be given to Rohingya refugees who reached Indonesian soil, no matter their religion. “We need to immediately help them,” he said.
(Reuters/AFP/AP/LUK/DIM/TAM/BAY/NSA/RON/ZAK/KRN/HRS/RUL/IDO/DIA)
