Rohingya Refugees delighted to have Delegation team
- 21/08/2014
- 0
By The Stateless
August 21, 2014
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh : The registered Rohingya refugee urged for their durable solutions to the delegates headed to the refugee camps lead by the ASEAN director of UNHCR, Mr James.
On 21st August 2014, the delegates visited Kutupalong and Nayapara Rohingya Refugee camps.
During their visit to Kutupalong Registered Refugee camp, the refugees welcomed them holding variety of posters and play cards showing them respect said a camp leader.
The delegates observed at activity programmes and facilities provide to the refugees by UNHCR. Then they had gone through the whole camp to see the camp life of refugees and held a brief discussion with the Camp Management Committee (CMC) and Block Management Committee (BMC) at CMC office.
The committee warmly welcomed them and discussed about various issues regarding current problems of Rohingya.
And the Rohingya committee earnestly appealed to Bangladesh, UN, EU, OIC, SAARC, IC, donor counties and all others Human rights Organizations to draw their legal and deep sympathetic consideration and views over protection issues of registered and undocumented Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
They further described some important issues like long standing problem of durable solutions, education, medical facilities, housing, food and so on a refugee mentioned.
There are some issues how refugees described.
Durable solution:
We are earnestly request your honors to ensure and resolve our long standing problem of durable solution “through 1951 Convention and 1967 protocol as a 2nd and 3rd refugee option” That we want to stay away from more captive refugee life.
We have already passed 23 years in the camp life, a slam area but our conclusion is still in pending .Why? So considering our better tomorrow, please, please, please, draw your legal and humanitarian views, toward durable solution through your legal advocacy.
Education:
We don’t have any quality and formal education facility in the camp as we are only allowed to acquire only grade 5 as a formal education and extending up to grade 7 which is non formal.
But no source to upgrade higher education like (JSC, SSC, HSC) level for the refugees are prioritized. As a result, our children’s life is being damaged day to day. Their precious future is under way to darkness.
Because the learners cannot go for further study after passing grade five and unable to learn neither skill works through vocational training nor any other activities which push them backward to be stand on their own feet. So, we would like to request all the authorities and concerned quarters to stand behind our refugee children with formal and quality education.
Shed Construction:
Our existing shelter /sheds condition is totally bad and out of used. Its roofs, fences, netting and plastic tents have been damaged. During the rain, hot, and winter, we cannot stay at home and we even cannot cook food during the rainy season. Our sheds were constructed in 2006 but never repaired till today.
Medication:
The regrettable problem for us is medication. The existing medical facilities in the camp is not sufficient and appropriate for the refugee because most of the general refugees are suffering with health care due to shortage of medicine as there is no viable medical services in the camp.
And the assigned medical doctors misbehave, ignore, and even harass the patients. They don’t care us as a human being and do not perform their duties for which they are assigned. About 100 more patients are struggling for their life in dire situation. The patients who are sometime referred to the local medical hospital are also deprived of sufficient medication
We do welcome to WFP, UNHCR, Bangladesh government and other concerned agencies for providing us new food card system.
We duly enjoy something better than previous system. But we are too much upset and sorry for the quantity of food. That is how a matured person can survive on 23 taka only for ‘food items a day?
According Bangladeshi dieting, it is quite impossible to serve a day on such quantity.
Prisoners get comparatively better food facilities than us.
Ongoing Genocide:
We also appeal to raise your humanitarian voices to condemn against current sectarian violence, rapping. Genocide, arson, oppression, racism, ethnic cleaning in our aboriginal land and etc. According to the UN survey, Rohingya are the most persecuted minority of the world in Arakan state, Myanmar.
Before visiting Kutupalong the delegates visited Nayapara Rohingya Refugee camp where refugees also raised the same issues.
In response to the refugees, Mr James the Asean director said, “we are trying to persuade the government of Burma to accept the whole Rohingyas as citizens of Burma”.
The camp leader urged again, “ We know you have been trying to convince the government of Myanmar to accept us citizens but the government has been strictly and repeatedly refusing the request despite existence of Rohingyas in Arakan is Generation to Generations.
Now having had two decades in the camp no solution is ensured for us.
As long as the Asean director had been in the camp, the camp leaders were requesting him to try for their durable solution.
Later they left the CMC office and observed the schools and others activities providing to the refugees. Finally, Mr Afzal again made an appeal to the director to play the vital rules for the immediate durable solution of the Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh refugee camp through resettlement process to any country as the Burmese government has been denying our citizenship rights and Bangladesh too which become a burden for Bangladesh to relocate us here as it is an over populated and poor country.
Rohingya refugee are very much delighted to have such kind of visit from delegates lead by ASEAN director of UNHCR and able to share their feelings and demands.
