The coming years are going to see lots of refugees around the world. Many of them will be displaced due to political tension or climatic conditions. Bangladesh's mega cities have long been hosting villagers fleeing horrors of river erosion. Recently, the country welcomed nearly million refugees from persecution in the Rakhine State in Myanmar.
In addition, huge number of Bangladeshis work in Middle East and South East Asia. Any kind of geo political tension in these countries could lead to massive evacuation program like that happened during the gulf war or second world war. The prospect of a refugee like situation is pretty high for Bangladesh.
Across the border, tension is rising among different communities. There is a mild chance that we may host some political refugees from India. But for the next few years, it is highly unlikely that this may happen. It all depends on how the Indian government is going to implement the the National Register Citizens and to deal with the aftermath.
In dealing with the Rohingyas, Bangladesh already met some harsh truths: pledged promises of aid never translated into actions, economic opportunities or alternative livelihood for the Rohingyas have never been devised, market access to some developed countries for Bangladeshi goods as a gesture of acknowledgement to host stateless people has yet to take place and no policies have been devised to spell out how the refugees' rights over resources( what they earn through their participation in economic activity) will be ensured and their free movement will be respected.
No one accepts willingly a refugee life in a foreign land. At the same time, economic opportunities and freedom to move without obstacles are extremely difficult for a refugee in a foreign country. Often, the condition facing a refugee turns worse if the hosting country becomes hostile or the population hold animus towards the refugee. Furthermore, there are lack of international efforts and agreements that ensure refugees' rights of their earned earnings and resources. From day one, a refugee becomes a subject of intense exploitation.
In the surrounding villages of Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, many Rohingyas forced to sell their labor at a wage rate far below than the market in face of grinding poverty.I had the experience to travel on a rickshaw in Cox's Bazar back in 2010 or 2011 at a fare much lower than the market could offer. Later I figured out the rickshaw puller was a Rohingya.
The movie "Gangs of New York" offers another vivid account of the impact of refugees could play in the society and labor market. In the movie, the Irish immigrants greatly shape informal labor market. Many are conscripted in the US army and sent directly to the battlefields, unknown and treacherous ,to embrace cruel death. Their dues are never paid. Some of these poor migrants fall into the lure of notorious gangs.
In Thailand, another group of Myanmar refugees have taken up hazardous jobs to sustain families. They extract copper from dumped electronic gadgets and laptops in awful working environment. Many burn their hands while doing so, as reported by the New York Times.
In the neighboring state of West Bengal, a small mangrove forest island once became a tension point between refugees of Bangladesh and state government. Poor refugees came in droves and started living in the forest despite repeated warnings from the government. Later police and ruling party cadres cleared the island launching a brutal crackdown. The killings in Marichjhanpi island still rankles with the refugees living in West Bengal.
To insulate the refugees from exploitation and to safeguard their interests, multilateral bodies should step forward. For instance, many nations can welcome a particular group of refugees. But due to statelessness , they cannot go/travel to those countries. UN can make special arrangements / travel documents that allow a refugee to move freely within a country and between friendly countries.
More precisely, a family may be separated by a tragic event and may become refugee. Sole bread winner may reside in a richer country but the rest of the family members may remain stranded in refugee camps of a poor country. In this case, UN may issue special travel documents to help the family reunites without violating laws and regularities of the hosting countries.Furthermore, migrant member of a refugee family may need to remit money back to the host country where his/her family members live. Due to the status of refugee, they cannot engage in legal financial transaction. Often the host country allows the refugees to engage in economic activities like farming, pisciculture, small business etc. Again due to their status, they cannot do banking legally in the country. UN can launch initiative through UNHCR so that refugees can open bank account using their refugee identity, can do financial transactions legally and can protect their resources.
Just to provide shelter is not enough for the refugees. As they are subject to exploitation and vulnerabilities stemming from the situation exists in the ground of hosting countries.Multilateral bodies need to take initiatives to find ways for economic opportunities for the refugees, instead of relying heavily on aid, and to make sure they move freely between countries that are amicable towards them.
To market the goods and produces of refugees, some solution should be devised. Like duty free shops at airports, we can introduce duty-free market place for refugee made goods in major cities. They can be given credit, subsidized seeds, fertilizer, land and pond . Special haat could also be arranged for their produces in week days and weekend. This can all happen under the good care of UNHCR.
Many countries are tremendously friendly towards the Rohingyas. These countries can fix a quota of RMG items , wear by defense personnel. Bangladeshi government in turn can redistribute quotas to Bangladeshi RMG manufacturers who will help prepare Rohingya entrepreneurs or offer jobs to Rohingyas in their factories. Their earnings could go directly to the bank accounts operated by UNHCR. This initiative, if work, will create a new breed of Rohingya entrepreneurs whose ventures will lift the community up from dire poverty.
Meanwhile, Myanmar government can give Rohingya originated traders some special permits to do trade of kitchen commodities in the country. This will open up another alley of opportunities for the Rohingyas. Uninhabited islands of Myanmar could also be leased to Rohingyas so that they could grow their own food, do farming and sell their produces to outside world. This will partly assuage their economic and financial woes. If Rohingyas are reluctant, then able Bangladeshi farms can be invited to lease those agricultural plots inside Myanmar.
Last two initiatives are bilateral in nature, depending much on how other friendly countries appreciate the ideas. Multilateral agreements like banking operation and travel documents for refugees can effectively materialize them. Since pledges of aid recede as time progresses, it is not a good idea to rest solely on aid to solve refugee problem. Mainstreaming the contribution of refugees towards the economy could be good alternative.
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