TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Rohingya ‘at risk’ of trafficking

With very few viable options for finding a decent livelihood during a stagnant crisis, the Rohingya population in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, faces an increased risk of falling victim to human traffickers in the coming years, according to a detailed report from the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM)

Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, March 20, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

Rohingya ‘at risk’ of trafficking

W

span>With very few viable options for finding a decent livelihood during a stagnant crisis, the Rohingya population in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, faces an increased risk of falling victim to human traffickers in the coming years, according to a detailed report from the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM).

The research group assessed the risk factors affecting the likelihood of human trafficking, migrant smuggling and related exploitation of more than 700,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya who fled persecution in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar.

Since the initial military crackdown that began in 2017, refugees are faced with limited access to employment and livelihood opportunities as well as formal education.

The report identifies how they might become increasingly desperate to make changes for themselves, making them possible targets to be exploited by human trafficking networks.

“As with any large displaced population faced with few alternatives, people are already beginning to take risks to seek a better future elsewhere. Movements are increasing — including by boat — and they are, and will continue to, affect the whole region,” ADFM said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Internal tensions within the camps are also reportedly rising between the newly arrived and more long-term refugees, something that the Bangladeshi government could not respond effectively to due to a lack of resources, the study notes.

Most recently, the Bangladeshi government announced it would relocate thousands of Rohingya refugees to the nearby Bhashan Char islet by mid-April, inciting anxiety among the refugees.

While Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to work toward the repatriation of refugees to Rakhine state, the first attempt in November last year failed as refugees still felt it was not yet safe to return, according to an assessment made by United Nations agencies.

On the other side of the border, tensions in Rakhine have persisted as the military wages war on the Arakan Army (AA), an armed group claiming to represent the ethnic Rakhine population. The AA launched a brazen attack on police posts in early January that killed 13 officers and killed nine more policemen earlier this month.

The most effective way to reduce the risk of trafficking among refugee communities is to provide a long-term solution to their dire situation, said Travers McLeod, ADFM co-convenor and chief executive of Australia’s Centre for Policy Development.

“Sustained regional action will bolster the response on the ground and the safety of those who have fled,” Mcleod said.

Another co-convenor of the ADFM, Tri Nuke Pudjiastuti from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said that active involvement and coordination of regional actors and initiatives — such as ASEAN and the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime — would make a critical difference.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi recently said that an ASEAN-led assessment team would soon be completing its mission in Myanmar. The team comprises members of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre), which was deployed last year to identify humanitarian needs that allow for the safe and voluntary return of Rohingya. A report on the preliminary assessments is currently being compiled.

Grata Endah Wedaningtyas, Indonesia’s leading diplomat for international security and disarmament, said that the vulnerability of refugees in Cox’s Bazar to trafficking had been regularly addressed at Bali Process meetings since the irregular influx of Rohingya in 2015, although there was always room for more work to be done.

In January, Bali Process co-chair Australia proposed making visits to Rakhine and Cox’s Bazar and to engage in awareness campaigns about irregular migration this July.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.