It Is Time To Integrate Them

Forced repatriation leads to a situation in tatters, Integration is the key solution that really matters.

Bangladesh witnessed 8th anniversary of Rohingya influx in the country. Around 11 million Rohingyas now reside in various camps across Southern part of Bangladesh. Promised repatriation did not take place as anticipated, rather Myanmar descended into a civil war,which is likely to wane after the election. Patience wears thin in cash-strapped Bangladesh. Aid is drying up. Learning centers are closing down in the camps.Some Rohingyas met horrifying death at sea while attempting to reach the affluent East-Asian countries. This year a boat capsize off the coast of Thailand killed 400 Rohingyas, a shocking number. What is more shocking an UNHCR official [attributed] the reason to aid cut.

I think aid cut has nothing to do with growing vulnerabilities of the Rohingyas.It is the uncertainties of their status,lack of right and opportunities that led them to meet this tragic end at the sea.

There is a growing cry to repatriate them to Myanmar,where other communities are not prepared to take them back. Myanmar is not a democratic country, where groups,people still settle dispute through guns. At the same time ,Bangladesh has to keep good relations with all the groups and stakeholders including Tatmadaw. It will take time for one group accepting other group and reintegration into the society.

Peaceful Myanmar, particularly the frontier state,is crucial to the development of Bangladesh. Bangladesh alone cannot stop the clash inside Myanmar. But we have to strive hard to make sure that conflict zone lies 1000 km away from our border so that our frontier villagers do not heard gunshot and development works go peacefully inside Bangladesh. In that light, balkanization of Myanmar does not serve our long term purpose.

Meanwhile, any forceful repatriation is neither good for the Rohingyas, nor for Bangladesh. We have to conduct a survey among the Rohingyas about their repatriation. Those want to stay back should be integrated into Bangladeshi society by giving them citizenship. We should negotiate for those who want to stay here. A safer place inside Myanmar, maybe a dedicated island or the Mandalay or Yangoon region,where they will not be attacked again. To reduce their vulnerabilities, we should offer economic opportunities for all irrespective of their position on repatriation. Current donor-funded NGO works inside the camps are not sustainable. Under the auspices of the UN, the security force may take charge of conducting relief works and other humanitarian activities. Former US army personnel, former Tatmadaw officers, former PLA soldiers may provide their assistance as educators,health workers, entrepreneurship development coach and other professions. I earlier argued about "Made By Rohingya" initiative to start business operated by the Rohingyas(See "Made By Rohingya",published on https://rezaulhoque.wordpress.com on March 09,2018, and "Chalk Out A Domestic Rohingya Policy", published here on January 19,2019). At the same time, free movement of the Rohingyas by large passenger-cum-cargo ships across the other countries of Malacca straits and the Middle East ,to a great extent,will reduce their isolation and vulnerabilities and thwart risky sea-crossing attempt. Apart from that, paramilitary forces may recruit 5000 Rohingyas and lift out 5000 families from poverty. And it will fill the void inside security forces where there is a dearth of Rohingya and [Rakhine] speaking people. Two dedicated TV channels in Rohingya and Rakhine language should be launched so that camp dwellers and Bangladeshis get info about camp life and what is going on inside Myanmar.

NGO activities should be restricted and replaced with local initiatives and income earning opportunities. Bangladesh can recruit foreign law firms, consultancy firms operated by former security personnel, police to cross check info about foreign nationals taking jobs here inside the camps or working in diplomatic mission. In Bangladesh , many of them are not seasoned professionals and often they are not reintegrated into their organization. Cox's Bazar and frontier districts are sensitive spots. And Bangladesh can ill afford wasting foreign taxpayers' money by allowing such individuals. In that light, this foreign aid cut is doing a great service [to] Bangladesh rather than a disservice. Humanitarian efforts should focus on [addressing] real issues on the ground , not to create wage employment for foreign nationals.

The civil war in Sri Lanka pushed many Tamils into India. At least 1 million preferred to stay back and did not return.Things are not that bad in Rakhine state. But we have to give time so that one community accepts the other. Bangladesh has to maintain good relations with all the groups, stakeholders of Myanmar. Any balkanization of the region is detrimental to our interests. Since repatriation will take time, we may integrate part of the Rohingyas into Bangladesh, [provide] economic opportunities to all of them,[arrange] maritime access to other countries through some accord, [ensure] more engagement of foreign Army veterans of key regional powers in providing humanitarian assistance, [ensure] less dependence on NGOs and [launch] made-by-Rohingya initiative [that] will reduce the vulnerabilities of the Rohingyas to a great extent.

Lawlessness Is Still Rampant

Innocents fall prey to violence, Restore law and order to bring back confidence.

Two weeks short of the first anniversary of the fall of previous govt, there is little improvement in law and order situation. Earlier govt said it would need 17000 fresh security personnel to hold a free and fair election. Training of constables requires 6 months and for the sub inspector it will take as long as one year. If the process of fresh recruitment has started in November, by this time we would have 4000 new police , still inadequate to fill the void created by deserted police personnel. Training of soldiers and paramilitary personnel takes a lot of time. What is interesting degradation of law and order is happening while the Army has the magistracy power.Meanwhile, govt is poised to hold an election at the earliest of 2026, an uphill task amid the restive situation on the ground.

Absence of democratic govt cost us dearly. Handling of the tariff dialogue with the USA is criticized right and left. Unless we are able to get a fair concession, we may lose a chunk of the US market. In addition, the democratic govt can handle the law and order condition better than any other form of govt. The economy is suffering dearly since grass-root law and order condition is in tatters. Small businesses and investors shelving up their plan for future. Meanwhile, whatever trickling flow of fund comes to the private sector is not finding any productive use due to the anarchy on the ground.

While govt is incapable of maintaining the law and order situation, it is not so wise to let the political parties to hold so many meetings across the sensitive areas. It complicated the situation.

If the flow of undocumented money into real estate is stopped, it will dramatically improve the law and order situation. This kind of dispute often takes into other forms including the political one and ends up in violence. With a special decree ,govt may stop the flow of illicit money into the real estate, thereby helping many vulnerable groups and families who often fall prey to such violence and add the number of homeless people.

Precondition for holding a fair election and fixing the battered economy is to restore the law and order condition quickly. If it requires foreign boots on the ground then the govt should do that. In Rakhine State, Myanmar allows foreign countries to recruit security personnel from abroad. Bangladesh should do the same in some areas and police deployed there maybe redeployed to other priority areas. Innocent and vulnerable individuals, groups and families fall victims to this lawlessness. Tally of the victims is the eye opener. Govt should walk extra mile to protect the lives of these innocent people.

Exit Globalization?

A departing plane and a falling footballer
Augur end of globalization?
Crackling guns and a crying interpreter
Challenge the champion’s reputation.

The scheduled but abrupt winding up of US mission from Afghanistan left many unanswered questions. One of them vies serious pondering: Does this augur end of globalization? More particularly the concept of globalization that was relentlessly advocated and disseminated across the world by Occidental countries. A novel idea of a deeply connected world where liberal policies of the governments will create an open and less controlled environment so that individuals, enterprises will thrive. A global village where technologies will bring positive changes and make easy lives and livelihoods. A world where societies will accept customs, cultures of others and enrich themselves and come together to solve problems. A world where factors of production and ideas will travel freely.

Shaken and undermined is that concept of globalization. An overspent war and image of falling of a footballer,aspired to make his country proud in the international arena,nailed that idea of globalization. Crisis ,natural or engineered, pushed this idea towards the current state. Brexit could be the perfect first visible sign of that decay. Growing nationalism---fuelled by income gap in the rural and urban community and worsened in the UK by global financial crisis---and widening gap between richer EU countries and southern ones spiked the immigration crisis that molded the opinions of 52% of the British voters to leave UK. In addition,a growing UK contribution to EU (reached $10 in 2018) also played a crucial role to severe British link with the EU.^{1 & 2}

A NATO partner Turkey’s accession to EU could also be viewed as growing rift in the closely knitted countries of Europe,the shining example of interconnected countries. Seams appear to come out over the crisis of Cyprus. Cracks further widened during Turkey’s commissioning of S-400 system into its armed forces,costing it getting the F-35. No one witnesses a growing surge in illegal immigration in Occidental countries in recent decade. Intertwined link between global trade and contraband strengthened the organized criminal groups across the world. Citizens of war-ravaged,stateless people and poorly governed countries have become pawns of strategic ideologues who wanted to prove that globalization is not a two-way track.While Americans pay the Latin American countries to stall the flow of USA-bound illegal immigration, EU countries cut deals with Turkey,Maghreb and Libyan authority to contain the flow of EU-bound Syrian, Afghan,African and Asian refugees. In Bangladesh, authority is losing trust on the Western allies as they keep insisting on long-term plan of Rohingya refugee management instead of facilitating the repatriation process. Bitter Bangladesh turned down American request of hosting few batches of Afghan refugees. And Pakistan’s response was more reprimanding: “Do Americans need us only to clear their mess in Afghanistan?”

Pandemic also put into test the spirit of Globalization. While richer countries stockpiling vaccines, poorer ones pleaded to make some concession on intellectual rights of the vaccines. Many African countries,on the other hand,refused to use vaccines donated by other countries. As America stopped shipping vital ingredients to India to manufacture vaccines citing a law that requires that domestic urgency reign over export, BJP-led government in India was criticized at home and in the neighborhood for failing to deliver vaccines to the states and neighboring countries in time.³ Even the CEO of Serum Institute ,the company responsible for manufacturing and distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine in this part of the world, fled to UK and was invited to set up a plant there. Bangladesh,a country that had public facilities to manufacture vaccines prior to 80s,shut down public production facilities during the liberalization phase. Bangladesh’s frantic search for a vaccine did not get serious attention. Many citizens await second-dose of vaccine at home. When the vaccine made available: vaccine nationalization started to show its ugly color. As the multilateral donor agencies started lending to poorer countries to start mass vaccination, most of them exempted vaccines that do not have WHO approval. Russian Sputnik fell victim to such policy. Poorer countries like Bangladesh, Philippines opted for costly Chinese vaccines. While Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia,Kuwait made it clear foreign workers must have western vaccine, causing further woes to Corona-battered poor workers.

Like immigration, globalization has also failed to bring equity and justice in trade between North and South. Bangladesh has been exporting garments to the USA paying more tariff than any other countries. While industrial disasters in other partially closed countries like Vietnam and China often go unnoticed to the eyes of US authorities, Bangladesh,a dysfunctional democracy with media houses,faces all kinds of safety regulations to comply with the Western standards. Recently a new extension of such regulation pact has caused great unease among the exporters in the country. It comes at a moment when pandemic shut down many brand stores that regularly imported Bangladeshi garments.

In a globalized world, poorer countries faced uphill task to procure raw materials for industrial production and their development. Bangladesh procures junk ships to get scrap metal for meeting its steel and iron demands at home.

In the beginning of this year,a court in England says it clearly, from now onwards, a worker who suffered injuries while dismantling a ship owned by a British company will be eligible for compensation.

The UK court verdict casts some shadow too. As per EU ship recycling regulation, EU flag-carrying ships are being dismantled in EU-listed 26 yards from December 31,2018 in a bid to ensure greener and safer scraping (source: https://ec.europa.eu/info ).

None of the Bangladeshi yards are included in that list. As Britain unhooked itself from EU, it fell outside from that obligation. But this latest verdict will make British ship owners think twice before selling their old junks to Bangladeshi yards. Because in any bad event they have to pay huge fines and compensation. So they may prefer to sell their ships to third parties to shirk their responsibility. Or go for the EU-listed yards that are less prone to accidents.

Bangladeshi yards have been getting few or no old EU vessels to scrap from 2019. UK verdict now makes it harder to get old British vessels to scrap. Bad news for scrap metal and construction industry.⁴

Increased debt has often caused the debt-ridden countries to fall into the influence of undemocratic power in this globalized world. New multilateral lending institutions born in response to rigid stance of the ones based in the West.

Governance crisis deteriorated in recent years. There have been coups in Zimbabwe,in Mali,overthrown of government in Bolivia,assassination of president in Haiti,huge explosion in Lebanon unfolded the crisis of existence,brazen Turkish support for Azerbaijan in the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh,and a pause on democracy for 2 years in Myanmar.Two mighty powerful neighbors have come close to start a war over a chunk of inhospitable terrain.Sophisticated algorithm and eavesdropping technology are being used to muzzle free voice and corner opposition. Farcical elections are more common than before. The need of a multilateral supervising authority has not been felt so dearly. In the wake of attack and counter attack on oil tankers in the Gulf,an Israeli official aptly captures the situation by saying to the press that there is no multilateral body whatsoever and it appears as if everyone is on their own.

Melting of $85 billion worth Afghan National Army and boasting of Western weaponry by the Talibans have made serious hole in Western military training and ability. Picture of pizza delivering Afghan communication minister in Germany reminded one the fate of former rulers---all living in the USA---of Caretaker govt of Bangladesh.But hapless plea of an Afghan interpreter running from one village to another for help put an end to ethical America that disseminated its image of an liberator and beacon of freedom and democracy.

But power should not come from barrel of the gun. If this is the case, then there may be eternal chaos. No one wants to set that precedent as it has serious repercussions for others. As long as people's and the weakest voices are not counted, stability and sustainability will remain out of reach.

From forming regional blocs to immigration policies, from free movement of factors of production to international financing, from bigger role of multilateral bodies to dispute resolution to governance, we are witnessing a low ebb in the concept of globalization. Biased side of globalization gets exposed when spirits of globalization is put into test. It may be easy to put this idea into challenges and take advantage of the fallouts in the short run but it is difficult to replace it or remodel with similar liberal values.

Notes And References:

1 “3 Reasons Brits Voted For Brexit”,John Mauldin,Forbes,July 15,2016Link here

2 “Causes Of The Vote In Favor Of Brexit”,WikipediaLink here

3. “US Embargo On Exporting Covid Vaccine Raw Materials And How It Could Impact India”,Simrin Sirur, The Print,April 21,2021Link here

4 “The Twist In Change”,Rezaul Hoque,https://hoquestake.blogspot.com,March 16,2019,Link here

The Missing Rohingya Plan

Human Rights Watch pleaded the government not to send any Rohingya to Bhasanchar, a remote island in Bay of Bengal. The island has been developed to accommodate Rohingyas. However, HRW and other human rights organizations claim that part of it is submerged during Monsoon and the island is not ready for relocation of the Rohingyas. In response, government says it has spent $300 million dollars to build accommodation in the island and the condition there far better than the one prevails in the camps of Cox's Bazaar.

Government can accentuate the Rohingyas to move there. Government has to ensure that Rohingyas will have the liberty to move to and fro between Bhasanchar and Cox's Bazaar. I think one of the plus side for Rohingyas to move to Bhasanchar is that the community will get land to till and permission for pisciculture.

But many do not assent to such scheme. Government reiterates that only the willing one will be taken to Bhasanchar. That is an appreciable move. Harsh weather conditions during the Monsoon and losing touch with the fellow Rohingyas at Cox's Bazaar camps may inhibit the Rohingyas shifting to Bhasanchar. To dispel the fear, government can spread the information of steps it has taken to make Bhasanchar liveable and the incentives the Rohingyas will receive once they decide to go there. One optimistic sign is that PM's international advisor in a TV talk show invited press to see firsthand how safe Bhasanchar is for the Rohingyas.

Another matter about the Rohingya crisis that garnered lots of attention is government's reaction to role of NGOs working on Rohingya issues. Recently, a minister lambasted the NGOs for paying hotel bills of Tk 1500 million and not doing enough for the Rohingyas. He even drew attention of local agencies to bring their operations under stricter scrutiny. I was perplexed by the comment. As far as I know, it is the NGO Affairs Bureau that is charged with clearing the funds for NGOs. Had there been any anomalies in NGO operations, this NGO bureau would have withheld /blocked the funds. But that did not happen. Moreover, it is the Bangladesh Army that is coordinating the relief efforts. So the point is government cannot brush aside the responsibilities for mismanagement of Rohingya fund. Couple of months before the recent allegations , government often accused international community for not fulfilling its pledge to fund Rohingya relief effort. When there is fund for this year, it has brought this allegation. Ambiguity in government policy decision regarding Rohingya relief efforts befuddled many observers at home and abroad.

Since its steps so far created lots of confusion about their success, government can bring a bill into parliament regarding Rohingyas' status and their future in this country. In broader sense it will dispel ambiguities in policies and offer a clear roadmap about the future of Rohingyas in this country.

Mostly it will help Rohingyas fending off uncertainties. I have been arguing for this Rohingya bill for a long time. If there were a bill, Rohingya would avail some facilities, ensure their refugee status and have complete control over their resources and property. For instance, at the present situation there is in no way they can do business in this country, they cannot open bank account, get trade licence, rent lend and sell their harvest in the market. They depend on government , armed forces and mercy of the local population. That makes their situation more precarious and leads them to flee camps and melt into the local population hiding their identity.

A Rohingya Bill will assuage their vulnerability because the bill will guarantee their refugee identity and secure their interests. They will live with that identity in this country as long as a safe return to the Rakhine State is not ensured. The bill in a sense will inhibit them hiding their true identity.

In addition, the bill begets new aid promises and trade concession from development partner countries.

At the end of the day dignified return of the Rohingyas and creation of safe livelihoods matter most. By the same token, improvement of trade relations between Myanmar and Bangladesh is also quintessential. Since we house a large part of the Myanmar muslim population , providing them sustenance is also Myanmar government's responsibility. As the world awaits the doldrums in Rakhine State to subside, Myanmar government can allot plots of arable lands to Bangladeshi commercial farmers and allow them to sell the produce to Bangladesh. At the same time it can allow small number of peasant Rohingyas to till lands stretching across the border in Rakhine State and far from the conflict zone. Similarly, trading activities on both sides of the borders need to be augmented manifolds. It is a good sign that trade relations has recently resumed through Teknaf port since fierce fighting between warring parties halted trade in January.

However, Rohingya crisis may balk improving bilateral relations. Bangladesh can take cue from Myanmar neighbors. Thailand, India and China have all housing ethnic groups of Myanmar as a result of hostile situation prevailing in their native lands. Moreover, there have been reports of recent border skirmishes between Myanmar forces and its neighbors. But the issues never impede trade relations. Many of them sell arms to Myanmar and Thailand, which is housing ethnic groups of Myanmar more than a decade and a victim of Myanmar amphetamine attack like us, honored visiting Myanmar Army Chief with the country's military award.

Bangladesh already inked a bilateral deal with Myanmar regarding Rohingya issues. While the UN works on atrocities purported on the Rohingyas, Bangladesh can stick to this deal and explore ways to improve trade relations with Myanmar. Granting commercial farming activities to Bangladeshi farms inside Myanmar could be one. By the same token, Myanmar Generals whose hands are clean of Rohingya blood or businessmen may be allowed to have a paltry presence in our special economic zones. And improved trade ties can later be used to dismantle the drug infrastructure built across the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and facilitate any initiative to return of the Rohingyas.

As Rohingya cause has already cast a shadow over the bilateral relations, a certain quarter will try to call into question the thawing trade relations. Rohingya crisis is getting favorable coverage in international media.  Let international community try the soldiers responsible for genocide.  Our cardinal objective is the safe and dignified return of Rohingyas to Myanmar. Rapprochement between Myanmar and Bangladesh can make it happen. The feverish pitch of anti-Myanmar cry will bring us nothing.

For that reason, it is imperative that we forge stronger ties with all the quarters of civil and military leadership of Myanmar. Stronger trade ties have built-in ingredients to diffuse tension. It happened earlier in other parts of the world. I do not see any reason why it may not happen here.