Rohingya repatriation uncertain

The repatriation process has remained stalled since July 2005 when only 92 refugees went back to their homes in Myanmar.

Though the Myanmar government has agreed to take back 8,753 more people, most refugees living in the two camps -- Kutupalang in Ukhia and Nayapara in Teknaf -- are unwilling to return home, fearing torture by the ruling junta.

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The Bangladesh government, however, blamed the UNHCR for delaying the repatriation process, saying that the agency has deliberately stopped the process as its officials would become jobless after all the refugees are repatriated.

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Shoyebur Rahman told a group of journalists, who visited the camps on June 16, that the UN agency has put some proposals in the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government in order to take control of all the activities with regard to repatriation and to make it linger.

He said the proposals includes granting citizenship to the refugees' children, building permanent houses for them, providing job opportunities after proper training, allowing them to buy lands, closing the departure camp in Teknaf and cutting the jobs of 52 employees of Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) and downsizing its activities.

UNHCR Representative Pia Prytz Phiri, however, denied the allegation of delaying the repatriation process.

Talking to journalists at the UNHCR office in Dhaka yesterday, she said the process has stalled because the refugees do not want to go back home as they think the situation in their country is still not congenial.

"We cannot force anybody to go back," she said, adding that the repatriation has to be voluntary.

"We cannot promote repatriation unless there is a fundamental change in the situation in Myanmar," she added.

About the issue of losing jobs, the UNHCR Representative said, "We will go back home after the refugees are repatriated and there would not be any problem for us in this regard."

She also said that there are no such proposals with regards to citizenship and right to buy land in the proposed memorandum of understanding.

About RRRC activities, she said, "We have proposed downsizing the RRRC in order to reduce the administrative cost, as this cost exceeds the expenditure on the refugees."

In Bangladesh, 65 percent of the total expenditure is spent on administrative purposes while only 35 percent on the refugees. But globally the ratio of administrative cost to expenditure on refugees is 30:70, she said.

Expressing concern over the poor living standard of the refugees and lack of secondary education facilities for their children, she said the Rohingya refugee camps in no way meet the international standard.

A collective effort is needed to find out a solution, she said. "We are in the process of holding a positive and constructive dialogue with the government in this regard."

Talking to The Daily Star, a number of refugees said they do not want to go back home now as there is no peace in their country.

"We want to go back to our country, but the government (of Myanmar) does not recognise us. The police torture us mercilessly and that is why we are afraid to go back," said a 20-year-old boy living in Kutupalong camp for 13 years.

"We will go back when peace will be restored in our country", he added.

Currently, 21,293 refugees are living in the camps after 2,36,599 Rohingyas have been repatriated since 1992, when an influx of them began from Arakan in Myanmar following a religious and political persecution.