Most importantly, CPJ could not have compiled this report without the free and open exchange of experiences between the Rohingya and host communities. This report acknowledges the contribution of the participants in this research, whose stories and quotes fill these pages. Decrease in social cohesion and empathy: At the beginning of the influx of refugees, the attitude of the residents of the host community towards the Rohingya was very favorable.
Women's views: Women and female village youth now have little direct contact with refugees, although many provided immediate support early in the influx. The host population closest to the camps is mainly low-income and bearing the brunt of the negative economic fallout. They expressed openness to future social cohesion and peace building programs as they anticipate the long term stay of the refugees.
At the same time, special economic development programs must be introduced to harness the power of refugees' labor and ensure that it benefits the economic development of the overall region. Traffic and Roads: Roads need to be improved and traffic managed more efficiently to ease the travel burden and ensure mobility of the host community population.
- Background
- Objectives of the Study
- Study Methodology and Implementation
- Profile of Research Participants
- Study Location
To diagnose the impacts of the influx of Rohingya refugees on the host communities living directly next to the camps; Through the discussions, the researchers sought to gain a deeper understanding of concerns, needs, and possible avenues of support that could strengthen the host community's ability to tolerate, benefit from, and participate in the Rohingya response. Finally, on 25 April 2019, the research team organized a dissemination workshop attended by key actors of the refugee crisis, including RRRC, UN agencies, NGOs, district and upazila administrators, representatives of police and other security agencies, journalists and other civilians. actors of society.
After reviewing the key findings of the study, participants shared their views and worked in groups to come up with recommendations for addressing issues identified by FGD participants. Local government representatives and community elders: There were many representatives from Palongkhali and Rajapalong Union Parishad of Ukhia region (a basic level of local government in Bangladesh), and some participants were community leaders, politicians and professionals. Religious and ethnic minority leaders: Most of the religious leaders were from the Muslim community and worked as Imams of various mosques and religious madrassa teachers.
Government officials: There were participants from the office of the Refugee and Rehabilitation Commission (RRRC), Camp in Charge (CIC), District Police Administration, Upazila Administration, Upazila Social Welfare Departments, Upazila Forest Department, Village Police, the National Security Intelligence and officials of education department at Upazila level. The dialogue sites, Gozaghuna and Goyalmara, are two villages in Palongkhali Union, both located less than 2 miles east of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and several miles west of the Bay of Bengal. The village is easily accessible by road, located along the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway.
The village of Foliyapara is located in Rajapalong Union directly south of Ukhia town center, near the entrance to the "Army Road" that was built in 2018 to run through the center of the refugee camps. Thus, the residents of Foliyapara are among the population most directly affected by the traffic of utility vehicles, which park on the outskirts of the village and pass through on the narrow road throughout the day. The village lies just west of the main Cox's Bazar–Teknaf Highway, with the beaches of the Bay of Bengal about 8 km to the west and the Myanmar border about four kilometers to the east.
Along with the larger Ukhia Upazila region, Rajapalong Union is located in a peripheral part of the country; the periphery-center relationship can be controversial.
Initial Response to the Influx
Shifting Attitudes
- Attitudes of Local Women
- Attitudes of Local Men
- Attitudes of Religious Leaders, Ethnic Minority Leaders and Local Government Representatives
While the situation has caused many problems, these have not necessarily been seen as the fault of the Rohingya refugees themselves. The land was suddenly taken back by the government to house the Rohingya refugees, with no compensation for those who had long maintained it. Perceptions of the Rohingya refugees have shifted and male participants in the village have become more bitter in the 17 months since the first exodus in August 2017.
The men believed that as non-citizens, Rohingya refugees are not subject to (or feel themselves subject to) the rule of law and enjoy exceptional protection from the authorities. Day laborers expressed suffering due to their inability to work for the low wages that Rohingya refugees are willing to accept. Among the rural men who attended the workshops, those who had had more direct interaction with Rohingya refugees expressed higher levels of compassion and tolerance than those who had less direct exposure.
However, many were open to both Rohingya refugees and locals receiving skills training in parallel. While they did not state it so clearly, they seemed to be wary of the conservative religious view of the Rohingya refugees. In contrast, while Union Parishad members did not recommend that Rohingya refugees return to Myanmar, they saw long-term support as unsustainable.
Despite their higher levels of hostility, all participants still felt that education and rehabilitation were important to promote positive social behavior among the Rohingya refugees and expose them to the rule of law. Despite their closeness to the government, the Union Parishad members felt strongly that higher-level government officials and security forces were strongly siding with the Rohingya refugees at the expense of local residents. The NGOs, civil society and government representatives understood the Rohingya refugee issue in ways that differed from the views of the local village and Union Parishad members who were the participants of the previous groups.
They also said that they do not trust the government to prevent the integration of Rohingya refugees into Bangladeshi society.
- Economic Impact
- Conflict around labor markets
- Price hike of daily essentials
- Scarcity of jobs at NGOs
- Loss of access to grazing land and forests
- Socio-cultural
- Unregistered marriage and family disputes
- Traffic and crowding
- Crime and drugs smuggling
- Adverse impact on education
- Perceived immorality
- Impact on local ethnic minority populations
- Behavioral and social interaction and potential sources of conflicts
- Political grievances
- Rohingya refugees as favoured by army and law enforcement agencies
- Corruption
- Loss of access to government services and institutions
- Social fears and concerns
- Xenophobia
- Criminality and insecurity
- Sense of being outnumbered and deprioritized
- Conspiracy theory and rumors
- Health and Environmental
- Unhygienic practices
- Environmental degradation
- Conflict resolution
- Opportunities and Barriers to Social Cohesion
- Opportunities Resulting from the Refugee Influx
The men felt that many Rohingya refugees were involved in methamphetamine (yaba) use and trafficking and had lured the host community's youth into addiction. The Bangladeshi host people were overcome with emotion and showed immense sympathy and empathy towards the Rohingya refugees. Several male participants stated that when Rohingya refugees complain to the army about disputes with members of the host community, the army always sides with the refugees.
If any of the host community residents speak against the Rohingya refugees, then the Rohingya refugees come to complain to the Bangladesh Army and the army personnel beat the host people every time. A male participant claimed that 140,000 Rohingya refugees are on aid distribution lists but absent from the camp. There is great control alongside very profitable corruption, as Rohingya refugees now pay large bribes for documents.
Rohingya refugees are recently planning to decamp - they aspire to stay permanently and mingle with the mainstream Bangladeshi population. As Rohingya refugees have become the majority of the population in the area, locals feel a growing sense of insecurity as they are a minority. And while Rohingya refugees are given electrically powered and deep tube wells, those in the host community are only 45 to 200 feet long, which is insufficient.
This may be indicative of the dominance of arch-conservative religious views in the camps; the local mullahs described themselves as proud moderates and want to promote tolerant attitudes among the Rohingya refugees, but are so far unable to do so. Union Parishad chairman spoke at length about a conspiracy where Rohingya refugees plan to dominate and settle permanently in the area. He believes that Rohingya refugees are mobilizing around the idea that the entire Teknaf and Ukhiya region is part of their homeland, and rightfully so.
He also said he was disappointed by the lack of readiness among Rohingya refugees to fight the Myanmar government. He said he believed ARSA was too weak and needed to be strengthened to attack the Myanmar military and assert the Rohingya refugees' right to live in Myanmar. He believed that some NGOs operating in the camps were secretly advocating against the government's repatriation policy and advocating for the permanent residence of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Some of the participants, especially Union Parishad members, recommended that Rohingya refugees should not be taught Bangla language and local culture as it could help them assimilate. Some of the participants even suggested building a wall around the camps to separate Rohingya refugees from the host community. Financial compensation should be provided to those who lost access to grazing and paddy lands and other forest resources.
Road and traffic management: Old roads should be repaired and widened, and new roads should be built to ease traffic congestion and overcrowding. Tubewells donated by agencies should be dug up to 800 feet instead of the current 150 feet. Tubewells and latrines should be given to individual households as people nowadays do not like to use community toilet and tubewells.
Education and health: There should be sufficient numbers of schools with sufficient number of classrooms and quality teachers. An Upazila Education Officer has recommended that vehicles be provided to education officers, who are facing difficulties in monitoring 77 schools with over 25,000 students without any office-owned transport. Host people also suggested that separate educational institutions be established for Rohingya refugee children and youth to promote their good character as law-abiding and respectful people.
Citizenship education should also be provided to host and refugee youth (separately) so that they understand political systems and become socially engaged members of the community. Some young people recommended creating a playground for children of refugees and host communities to play together, which will help build social cohesion and peace. There should be sufficient hospitals and healthcare facilities for both the host community and the refugee community, given the local prevalence of various diseases and the increased demand for healthcare.
Teachers who can communicate in local languages (Chittagonian, Rohingya and Burmese) should be hired to teach refugee children.
