Several thousand members of government and non-government organizations are working in the 33 Rohingya camps of Cox's Bazar that shelter over a million refugees.
Usually, they visit the camps in the morning and leave before dusk. This is not because they are doing their official job very punctually. They rather leave for security reasons as the camps are unofficially ruled by some armed forces groups from late afternoon.
At least 11 rogue armed groups, including Myanmar's Arakan Salvation Army (Arsa), are active in the refugee camps. They are allegedly engaged in drug trading, kidnapping, infighting, extortion and rapes, according to a report by the Ministry of Defence. The report was placed at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence on February 15.
Clashes between groups are often centered around drugs, extortion, and human trafficking. Scattered killings are happening. Arsa's presence and the dubious activities of the other groups are posing a security risk, according to the report.
The crime rate has soared in the Rohingya camps since 2017 when the displaced Myanmar nationals fled to Bangladesh.
Only eight murder cases were registered in that year, but the number is on the rise gradually. The number was 15 in 2018, 22 in 2019, 13 in 2020, 27 in 2021 and 32 last year, according to Coxs Bazar district police.
From 2017 till now, 116 Rohingya-related murder cases have been filed, according to Md Mahfuzul Islam, superintendent of police in Cox's Bazar.
However, local journalists put the number of murders at 150.
The latest killing of a Rohingya youth named Rafiq took place on March 3. He was shot dead after Jummah prayers in camp number 19/A.
Who are these criminals?
This correspondent visited the Rohingya camps recently and observed that the fears of the residents go up manifold as darkness falls, with criminals establishing their dominance.
According to the Defense Ministry report, Arsa is active in Ukhiya, Balukhali, Palongkhali and Huaikong camps. Previously known as Harakah Al Yakin, this group is responsible for launching multiple attacks on the Myanmar Army and the border forces since 2016.
Another influential group, the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), operates in Ukhiya and Palongkhali camps. This group was formed in the 1990s and resurfaced after the 2017 influx.
Moreover, Islamic Mahaz is active in the Hoikung camp and Master Munna group in Ukhiya and Palongkhali camps.
According to the government report, six robbery rings are active in the Nayapara camp: Chakma robber group, Nabi Hussain robber group, Putia robber group, Zakir robber group, Salman Shah robber group and Khalek robber group. On the other hand, Jabu robber group operates in the Waikong camp.
While talking to Dhaka Tribune, a senior UN official said it was very shocking that two children had died in a gunfight inside the Rohingya camps. “Security conditions are worsening even during the daylight,” the official said, seeking anonymity.
Reasons behind rising crimes
Officials working in the Rohingya camps said one of the main reasons for killing and extortion inside the Rohingya camps is infighting for control of human trafficking, drug peddling and some other criminal activities.
Anonymously, several Rohingyas told this correspondent that their lives depend on the relief and shelter provided by the government and international NGOs. The aid they are getting is not enough and they want a life beyond the boundary of the camps.
According to UN officials, almost 40,000 Rohingya youths are working inside the camps as volunteers and getting paid on a monthly basis. But the number of refugees is almost one million, most of whom have no involvement in income-generating activities. They are sitting idle, depending only on the ration.
A maximum number of Rohingya youths want to return to their own land in Myanmar, but due to the delay in repatriation, they have become frustrated. This is why they attempt to leave the camps for any Southeast Asian country by boat, said two community leaders, male and female, while talking to this correspondent recently.
Fleeing the camps is a very common phenomenon for the Rohingya youths and some of them get involved in criminal activities for a better life, they observed.
Assistant Superintendent of Police and Armed Police Battalion (APBn) Spokesperson Faruq Ahmed told Dhaka Tribune: “The Rohingya camps are densely populated and many jobless youths are living here. They get engaged in criminal activities very easily.”
Aid cut worsens situation
Amid the ongoing tensions inside the camps, the World Food Program (WFP) recently cut the food ration for the refugees. Now they will get $10 per month instead of $12 as food ration, according to the new announcement.
Yoko Akasaka, head of operations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at Cox's Bazar, said: “The declining food and ration will hit the Rohingya camps hard.”
Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Commissioner of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation (RRRC), also acknowledged that the fund cut will hurt the Rohingyas.
“The delay in Rohingya repatriation and the ongoing situation inside the camps are causing a deterioration in law and order. The government is ensuring enhanced arrangements and has increased the number of law enforcers to tackle these problems. If the situation does not improve, the Rohingyas will become a security threat to Bangladesh as well as this region,” Mizanur told Dhaka Tribune.
The United Nations describes the Rohingyas as the world's most persecuted people. It has also documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- and brutal beatings by Myanmar security forces.
Three months after the influx began on August 25, 2017, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement on the commencement of the repatriation. In the last five years, despite making repeated promises to take the Rohingyas back, Myanmar has not created a favourable condition for the return of these displaced people.
Two attempts at repatriation were made during the last couple of years, but the moves failed as the Rohingyas declined to return until a safe and dignified environment was created for them in Myanmar.
The situation worsened with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and a renewed seizure of power by the military in Myanmar in February 2021.
