Cox’s Bazar: Bangladesh Authorities have bulldozed off more than 3,000 Rohingya-run shops since last month, a government official confirmed on Tuesday, as struggling refugee families expressed their dismay at the demolition.
About 850,000 members of the stateless Muslim minority are packed into overcrowded displacement camps in Bangladesh, most of whom have fled neighboring Myanmar after a 2017 military crackdown that prompted an international genocide investigation.
Bangladesh has been praised for taking in refugees, but rights groups have criticized restrictions placed on refugees, most recently a campaign to close down temporary shops serving their communities.
country’s deputy refugee commissioner Shamsood Dauza told AFP that “more than 3,000 illegal shops” had been demolished.
“number of Rohingya is increasing. And they need shelter. We are already building sheds on the campus,” he said, adding that relief groups were making sure the refugees were still getting their daily necessities.
But Khin MaungA Rohingya community leader and rights activist told AFP the demolition had already hurt thousands of refugees in the camps.
“Rohingya families are large and the amount of ration given to them is decreasing. Many families were dependent on income from shops,” he said.
Salim Ullah, whose grocery store was ransacked, said he would now struggle to feed his family of eight.
He said, “That shop was my last hope. How do I run the family now? There is no way but to die. I am helpless.”
Saad Hammadi Of Amnesty International Said that the move would leave refugees vulnerable to exploitation and worsen the situation in the camps.
“The collapse of shops and the closure of community-led schools adds to the tension and frustration,” he said.
Hammadi urged officials to “involve them in decisions to protect the rights and dignity of Rohingya refugees, including their right to live”.
About 850,000 members of the stateless Muslim minority are packed into overcrowded displacement camps in Bangladesh, most of whom have fled neighboring Myanmar after a 2017 military crackdown that prompted an international genocide investigation.
Bangladesh has been praised for taking in refugees, but rights groups have criticized restrictions placed on refugees, most recently a campaign to close down temporary shops serving their communities.
country’s deputy refugee commissioner Shamsood Dauza told AFP that “more than 3,000 illegal shops” had been demolished.
“number of Rohingya is increasing. And they need shelter. We are already building sheds on the campus,” he said, adding that relief groups were making sure the refugees were still getting their daily necessities.
But Khin MaungA Rohingya community leader and rights activist told AFP the demolition had already hurt thousands of refugees in the camps.
“Rohingya families are large and the amount of ration given to them is decreasing. Many families were dependent on income from shops,” he said.
Salim Ullah, whose grocery store was ransacked, said he would now struggle to feed his family of eight.
He said, “That shop was my last hope. How do I run the family now? There is no way but to die. I am helpless.”
Saad Hammadi Of Amnesty International Said that the move would leave refugees vulnerable to exploitation and worsen the situation in the camps.
“The collapse of shops and the closure of community-led schools adds to the tension and frustration,” he said.
Hammadi urged officials to “involve them in decisions to protect the rights and dignity of Rohingya refugees, including their right to live”.
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