Mohammad Ali Jinnat

Rohingyas living both in Rakhine and Cox's Bazar are in great risk of trafficking and exploitation as they seek a safe and better life after the brutal military crackdown last year, say law enforcers and aid agencies.

Exhausted Rohingyas walking with loads of firewood on their heads used to be a common sight around the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, raising concerns about the long-term impact on the forest.

In a rare move, Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar camps yesterday began a three-day strike protesting what they say is the forcible issuing of 'smart cards' which exclude the word 'Rohingya'.

The humanitarian operations for the Rohingyas should be more transparent and cost effective as their repatriation may take longer than expected and the funding is inadequate.

The first batch of Rohingyas is all set to be sent back to Myanmar today amid reports that many of the refugees listed for return are hiding in fear of forcible repatriation.

The tourist city of Cox's Bazar is all set to host its second-ever international football tournament as the two semifinals of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup will be held today and tomorrow at the Birshreshtha Ruhul Amin Stadium.

The government and the UNHCR have been implementing a fresh programme to collect information on Rohingya refugees as per Myanmar's requirement for their repatriation.

The mansions of Nazirpara and Moulvipara, two remote villages in the coastal upazila of Teknaf, would fascinate anyone with their architectural beauty.

Myanmar will take back the around 7,000 Rohingyas, who have been staying in the no man's land adjacent to the Bangladeshi village of Konapara in Bandarban since they fled their homes in Rakhine following atrocities that began late August last year.

The 450 Hindus who would be taken back by Myanmar in the first batch on January 22 know little about their repatriation, and officials concerned here are also in the dark.

World Food Programme will provide rice, pulse, oil and other daily necessities to Rohingyas well into next year.

Selina Begum, 22, started walking from Rohingya settlements in Thyankhali camp to collect some relief goods with her two-year-old daughter yesterday.

Continued influx of Rohingyas, unplanned settlement of refugees and haphazard development activities by many organisations make

Some 6,300 Rohingya people, mostly women and children, have been stuck in no-man's land along the Naikhyangchhari border since August 27.

Health officials in Cox's Bazar fear spread of HIV/AIDS in the refugee camps as a rising number of Rohingyas have been diagnosed with the disease.

An estimated 12,000 Rohingyas crossed into Bangladesh yesterday as severe food crisis and violence in Myanmar have triggered a fresh exodus. Besides setting fire to Rohingya homes in Rakhine State, the Myanmar army and local Buddhists are burning shops, markets and even crops fields, claimed the newly arrived refugees.

Four-year-old Nur Khan cringes in fear whenever he sees someone unknown near his shack in Ukhia of Cox's Bazar. When he comes across anyone holding any object, he shudders. There's a reason for that: five weeks ago, the child witnessed both his parents being brutally murdered.

Six-year-old Jashim sat, dressed in a grey T-shirt and trousers smeared with mud, amid piles of donated clothes strewn along the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf road. He suddenly started running after a slow moving car.

As the sun's first light fell across the hills of Balukhali in Ukhia, a frailly built Mohammad Syed could be seen trying his best to walk quicker with the help of a wooden stick.

Mohammad Zafar held one of his twin sons tight in his arms and kept the other in the lap as the trawler bobbed up and down in rough waters amid heavy rain.