Rohingya refugees fleeing from Myanmar are kept under tight security by the Bangladeshi military after crossing the border.(Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
NOVEMBER 12th 2018
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily
Rohingya Muslims Flee to Avoid Return to Myanmar
Many of the Rohingya Muslims, previously forced out of their homes in Myanmar after the confirmed mass slaughters in the country at the hands of an ethnic cleansing, have begun to abandon their refugee camps in Bangladesh due to having received word that they are to return to Myanmar, according to a Rohingya leader, and the country itself as it prepares to receive and welcome them back.
The refugees, who’d been listed, had apparently fled the camps in order to avoid return to their country of Myanmar, with a total of a few dozen families. They were meant to be returned later during this week, but have fled out of fear of the many atrocities that had occurred towards the Rohingya over the past months.
The refugee agency of the United Nations had vocalised their concerns on having the Rohingya returned so soon, despite both the countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh agreeing in late October to have the several thousand of the refugees be repatriated at around this time. The concerns, of course, rest in the Rohingya’s safety in Myanmar, and whether or not the army would continue their crackdown.
November 15th is when the first batch of Rohingya are set to be defected to the Rakhine state of Myanmar, said to consist of at least 2000 refugees. Myanmar officials themselves have stated their readiness to receive the refugees, but a few Rohingya had expressed, to Reuters journalists last week, their fear and dismay at the prospect of returning to their country.
Myanmar’s Minister for Social Welfare and Resettlement, Win Myat, expressed to a news conference that “It depends on the other country, whether this will actually happen or not,” speaking about Bangladesh of course, “But we must be ready from our side. We have done that.”
Bangladesh had also, on the other hand, stated that they would not be forcing any refugees to return, and have even asked for the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to confirm and verify which refugees wish to stay, and which of them desire to go, essentially find those shortlisted that are not willing to defect. These efforts had, according to a UNHCR representative; Firas Al-Khateeb, not been started just yet.
“The return will be voluntary. Nobody will be forced to go back,” Bangladesh Relief and Reparation Commissioner, Abdul Kalam stated, adding that he had high hopes for the process to begin on Thursday, despite the delays.
Part of the fear comes from many Myanmar Buddhists actively protesting the return of the Rohingya, and of course fears that they may be met with more violence upon return. One unnamed refugee had even reportedly said that “People are so afraid of being identified, they are avoiding Friday prayers at the mosque.”
The UNHCR believe it would also be highly appropriate for the refugees to return, if only to judge for themselves whether it would be acceptable for them to remain in Myanmar and making any definitive decisions. After all, over 700,000 Rohingya had fled the country out of fear for their lives. The country still, however, has made firm denials of almost all of the accusations against them, stating that they were in fact battling Rohingya terrorists that called themselves the ‘Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’, before the crackdown had occurred.
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily
