FREQUENT murders, abduction and torture in Rohingya camps suggest that the persecuted community, already faced with an uncertain future, is additionally burdened with fear of violence. The Thailand-based rights group Fortify Rights on March 18 in its research findings on law and order in the camps in Cox’s Bazar reported at least 219 Rohingya murders in 2021–2024 and blamed armed Rohingya groups for the violence. Top Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission officials also blamed the armed groups for the killing but suggested that the situation was slowly improving because of the concerted government efforts. The government’s claim is not totally unfounded as nine Rohingya people have recently been arrested over violence in the camps. The government, however, needs to revisit its camp operation policies and strategic briefs, especially when international aid workers and community leaders have already feared a surge in crimes because of the declining international aid. More important, the presence of non-state armed groups in the camps is a security concern that the government should take into account.
Bangladesh showed an unprecedented humanitarian gesture by opening its border to more than one million Rohingyas and providing them with shelter, but the surge in crimes and recurring incidents of fire show that the government is struggling to ensure a safe environment inside the camps. In 2017–2022, as police records say, there have been at least 115 Rohingya murders and at least 2,441 criminal cases have been filed in connection with murder, abduction, rape and drug-related crimes. Many ordinary Rohingyas say the crime gangs often target the young people and community leaders and those who raise their voice against crimes or help the authorities to identify the gang members. In 2017–2021, the authorities recorded 73 fires in the camps that claimed at least 25 lives. Refugee women’s safety has also been a persistent concern. It is alleged that recurring incidents of fires inside the camps are also a result of gang rivalry. Volatile law and order and recurring fire should once again be a reminder that providing shelter is not enough and that such makeshift camps can never guarantee a sustainable and safe future for the Rohingyas.
The government should, therefore, prioritise law and order in the Rohingya camps because it has a responsibility to protect the community’s right to life. The international aid organisations and UN bodies should, in shouldering the responsibility for humanitarian assistance to refugees, support Bangladesh in its diplomatic campaign for safe and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to their native land.