Where do we go from here?

Two-month-old infant, Shaokat Ara, has been living in Balukhali makeshift Rohingya camp-1 in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, since her birth. To her, the planet is a green one -- courtesy of Ukhiya’s picturesque natural beauty --  full of hope. But she was born without much hope when her mother, Rehana, narrowly escaped a locally named “launcha” -- a weapon similar to a missile, fired by the Myanmar military to set her home ablaze. Rehana had absolutely no other option but to run and flee. She crossed a narrow strait of Naf in Myanmar to Ulubunia, Palingkhali, Ukhia -- leaving behind her torturous past at Balibazar, a village in Maungdaw district in Myanmar, where her family had been living for hundreds of years. The short walk toward Ulubunia at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border came to a halt as Rehana felt a surging pain burning her womb. It was time for the delivery of her child -- she had been carrying for 10 months. Showkat Ara was born on her mother’s walk to freedom from persecution and pain. Rehana had company -- thousands swarming the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, left with no choice but to run for their lives. Often with a solar panel or an elderly member of the family hanging on the shoulder and a battery bag in hand.Two sides of the same coinAcross the Naf river, the picture was a little different from what they had fled from. Bangladesh set an extraordinary example of humanity and compassion. The Rohingya were forced to lead a nomadic life, displaced from their agrarian lifestyle. Lately, Myanmar’s militarised government conjured a ridiculous theory: The Rohingya are, in fact, migrated Bangladeshi Muslim agrarian people, who travelled to their land some generations ago and thus never conformed to their citizenship principles. Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize winning Indian economist, slapped this line of defense with a fiery retort: “The Rohingya didn’t come to Myanmar; Myanmar came to the Rohingya.” Bangladesh was born with a fundamental pledge to justice, equity, and compassion. In the face of one of the biggest humanitarian crises, our government, along with the Bangladeshi locals in Cox’s Bazar, embraced the traumatised Rohingya with smiling faces and are still doing what they can to help.The heavy liftingImmediately after the fresh influx beginning on August 29, the Cox’s Bazar district administration, in collaboration with RRRC (Refugee, Relief, and Repatriation Commission, Bangladesh), set up temporary makeshift camps and developed a system not only to distribute relief coming from all over the world, but also to create a functional work environment for the UN bodies and hundreds of NGOs. Other agencies like the police and the army, led by the district administration, accomplished an insurmountable task to facilitate the safe and secured distribution of a huge amount of diverse relief.

Our efforts to force the Myanmar government to do the right thing are way less than our efforts to accommodate the Rohingya in Bangladesh

Hundreds of national and international NGOs are doing commendable jobs to ensure minimum sanitation and health standards in the makeshift camps. Everyone, except Myanmar, is trying to build a fate for these battered souls, a home for these homeless, and give hope to people.Reality checksBut we need to reconsider a few things given the harsh realities and new developments in the Rohingya camps. A few days back, at Balukhali makeshift camp-1, three Bangladeshi citizens from Chittagong, who were trying to distribute cash as relief, on which the government has imposed a ban, were brutally beaten by some Rohingya. They were recovered half dead and the offenders claimed that they were trying to steal their kids. But later on, the allegations were found not to be true. The money from the Bangladeshis was snatched away by the Rohingya and to cover it up, they simply manufactured a false allegation. Recently, a policeman was hit in the head by a Rohingya couple at Teknaf. These developments, though rare, indicate a law and order concern for us. Some believe, years of exposure to extortion, exploitation, and violence may have rendered the Rohingya cunning and violent. While it’s best to avoid this type of racial profiling, unfortunately, the potential for a “Rohingarchy” in the lives of the locals is not too unlikely.Is our humanity sustainable? Besides, the concern is not only about law and order. Bangladesh has been advancing gloriously for the past few years, and this half a million (and counting) can seriously affect the thriving growth of our nation. The number itself is a threatening statistic. Prevention of locals mixing with the Rohingya would be a near impossible job for the security forces and it may result in fatal consequences for the locals. Though WFP and UNHCR will take the responsibilities of this added population, there is no guarantee that they will not cut loose from the camps. It may be the locals’ fates that will be at risk. Will they go back? Will they be given their legitimate right of citizenry? What exactly is a solution to this crisis? These questions won’t see answers any time soon. At the moment, international authorities are busy meeting immediacies based upon the sheer generosity shown by our PM. Interestingly, our efforts to force the Myanmar government to do the right thing are disproportionate compared to our efforts to accommodate the Rohingya in Bangladesh. Yes, we want a compassionate solution to this crisis and a future for the Rohingya, but not at the cost of risking our own fate.Sohel Rana is an Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate working in DC office, Feni,  Bangladesh and a member of Bangladesh Civil Service. He is now attached to Cox’s Bazar DC office to work for the Rohingya crisis. Currently, he is in charge of the Balukhali-1 makeshift relief distribution Rohingya camp Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.