Rohingyas Boat People - Endless Wait for Repatriation

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Monday, February 20, 2012 THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | ISSUE 27 | 17 FEB 2012

Writer Zubair Ahmed

COVER STORY:

ROHINGYAS: ENDLESS WAIT FOR REPATRIATION

About 400 desperate souls rescued from the seas and detained in a

distress camp for almost three years at Port Blair dream for a free life

and a reunion with their families. Abandoned by both Myanmar and

Bangladesh, their fate hangs in balance, with an indecisive government

policy and the sluggish pace of repatriation.

By Zubair Ahmed

Since December 2008, about 702 boat people with Bangladesh-Myanmar nationality were rescued from

various parts of the Islands. After a slow moving process, about 270 of them were repatriated. The remaining

422 are languishing in the Distress Camp set up at Brookshabad by the ANI Admn. Another 54 were to be

deported this week to Bangladesh.

"Its three years now, and we have not done anything wrong. We were first persecuted by the Burmese Junta,

pushed by the Thais into the face of death. Indian government has been very sympathetic to us, but how can we

continue to remain in a detention camp like this?" asks Ghulam Kadir, who is just 25 years old.

The 400 persons have been lodged in the Open Distress Camp, where they live in three dormitories. The Admn

spends about Rs 75 per diem. They all look well-fed and clothed. However, they are unable to accept their fate,

of living as prisoners without any hope.



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Mohammed Zameer: Optimistic

"It is very unfortunate that poachers and Illegal fishermen from Myanmar,

Bangladesh or Thailand, who are apprehended gets repatriated after they serve

their sentences, whereas these boatpeople does not have the right to even get

out of their camp," says a senior police officer.

Mohammed Zameer, 23 years, born in

Arakan has six members in his family. Faced with desperation and pain in managing a family

in a hostile country, where its own citizens are

persecuted by the Myanmar government, he

crossed to Bothi Gaon in Bangladesh, just 20 kms away. One of the 2 lakh state-

less and worst discriminated Rohingyas and Arakanese who had crossed the

border looking for a safe haven from the clutches of Myanmar, he too dreamed

of a better world. The border towns of Myanmar-Bangladesh are home to many

such unfortunate souls. However life was not that easy in Bangladesh. He

remained 8 months in Chittagong and thought of moving to Malaysia.

Ghulam Kadir: Its a Long Wait!

When he heard that Captain Rafeeque, would take him to Malaysia for an amount of 15-20 thousand takas, hetoo joined the 102 member group. Rafeeque, known as Captain promised them a safe landing in Malaysia. It

took about 8 days to reach Phuket on their way, where they were intercepted by Thai Navy. They could see

around 120 such Arakanese/Bangladeshi economic migrants already detained by the Thai Navy.

Mukhtar: Engine Betrayed!

Lately, the Thai authorities had picked Red Sand Island for 'processing' the

Rohingyas before pushing them into the sea. They are subjected to inhuman

torture and humiliation in the process. They are detained on the beach with gun-

trotting guards abusing and torturing them. About 413 of these boat people

were loaded into a dead engineless incapacitated wooden boat and towed deep

into the sea for 24 hours and left to drift. Two bags of boiled rice and two jars of

water were provided on each boat. There was no provision to cook the rice. They

soaked it in water and chewed raw. But that too did not last more than two days.

412 persons tossed in a boat with no space to even move, they drifted in the sea

for more than 15 days

and they even lost the

count of days after a

certain period.

Hunger and thirst drove them mad. Everyday, they

were throwing dead bodies into the sea. When after a

long period, the boat drifted towards Little Andaman

Islands, where they were spotted and rescued by the

A&N police and ANC, out of 413, only 107 survived.

UNENDING WAIT: At the Distress Camp at

Brookshabad

They arrived at Port Blair famished and totally

dehydrated. They were shifted to hospital. After they

recovered from the trauma, they were jointly

interrogated by police and defence personnel.



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Although there is no lack of facilities, what they rue is detention without any crime. When asked SBS Deol, DGP

told LOA, "They are not criminals and there is no justification in holding them in a detention camp, and I think

they should be given Refugee status by Government of India."

When asked about the delay in repatriation,

Naushad, Dy SP Emigration told LOA, "We

have already forwarded all the details of the

boatpeople to BSF as well as to the

concerned High Commission; however, its

time consuming and the response is very slow from Dhaka as well as from BSF."

Andaman Islands The Cellular Jail, Port Blair

"We are doing our best in addressing their

requirements. "There is cellphone facility

provided to them and they speak to their

family members and relatives," he said.

The Administration is spending about Rs 12

Lakhs per month for the detainees. "The

desperation among the detainees has

increased a lot. They had gone on hunger strike four or five times demanding quick

repatriation, which is not a good sign," said

DGP. A few of them in fact had tried to

escape from the camp. About ten of them

are undergoing prison sentence.

Indian coastguards rescued more than 700

Rohingya Boat people from near death from

a deadly sea route near the Andaman

Islands. On August 24,2011 after

languishing in Andaman jail for about eight

months, 175 boat-people were handed over

to Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.

"In 2005-07, many Rohingyas had trespassed

Thailand to enter Malaysia. Although they were

detained by Thai authorities for 10-15 days, as

soon as their relatives in Malaysia intervened

and paid an amount of 3000 Malaysian

Ringgit, they were released. In Malaysia, the

government accepted them and would provide

them Refugee Card for labourers," said Mohd

Zameer.

Rohingya Boat People in Thai Security Forces’

Custody: Are They Not Human Beings?

Mukhtar (35) belonged to a group of 61

persons, which landed in Twin Islands on 08

Jan 2009. Their boat had developed an engine

snag, and drifting in open sea for about eight

days.



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In another incident, about 150 persons landed near Tillangchaung Island on 10 Jan 2009. Ghulam Kadir (25)

who is still in the camp says that they were about 110 and 41 more people were tossed into an incapacitated

boat by Thai authorities and pushed into the sea. About 113 persons have been repatriated. Another 36 persons

are still in the Distress Camp waiting repatriation to Bangladesh.

One more incapacitated boat carrying 133 Rohingyas reached Pillow

Millow village in Great Nicobar on 15th January 2009. The boat caught

the attention of the residents of the village that had just 5-6 families

living there after tsunami devastated it in 2004. Rest of the 41 families of the village were still living in temporary shelters in Campbell Bay.

However, the villagers took out their boats and with great difficulties

towed the drifting boat to the village in a very rough weather. The

Rohingyas were famished and dehydrated as was the case with earlier

arrivals in the Islands. There was not much in the village to offer over 130

hungry people, said Paul Jura, the tribal chief of the village from

Campbell Bay. However, the villagers offered them banana and whatever

else they could. The police in Campbell Bay was alerted though even that

in itself was a monumental task.

The issue is very serious for those of Burmese origin. There were about

107 of them, out of which 38 of them were rescued in 2008 and only one

of them was repatriated. Another group of 37 were found on Barren

Island in December 2011. 34 more of Burmese origin was rescued near

Goal Tikrey, Kalighat on 23 December 2011.

"Even Rohingyas living legally on Phuket have been refused passports by

the ''new'' Burmese government. Those who do land in Thailand are

''helped on'' to Malaysia or into the arms of brokers," said Alan

Morison, Editor, Phuketwan to LOA.

"Myanmar is not going to take them back as they are outcasts there and Bangladesh would do the same as they

are Rohingyas. It would be inhumane to keep them in detention. Either United Nations or Government of India

would have to pitch in and confer Refugee status to them," said a Police Officer.

It is human right issue of monumental proportion rather than stray incidents of desperate people drifting in with

the trade winds as the A&N Administration treats it. A proper policy needs to be devised in consultation with the

Government of India to handle the migrant Rohingyas problem. ##

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | ISSUE 27 | 17 FEB 2012

Please Unite Us with Our Families: Mohd Muslim

Mohammed Muslim (47) is one of the most vocal among the

detainees at the Distress Camp. He does not like to be addressed as

Rohingya or Arakani. He says that he is from Teknaf, a sub-district of

Cox Bazar, a division of Chittagong in Bangladesh.

"The officials from Bangladesh High Commission comes here every

5-6 months. They take all our addresses and details. But, nothing is

happening in our case," he said. 'We are 265 persons and detained

in this camp for last three years. Only 11 persons from our group



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have left. Out of 265, more than 100 persons will never get to go back as Bangladeshi official suspects us to be

Arakanese," he worriedly said.

"About 40 persons in our group have their own residence in Bangladesh, but the land is not in their name. The

local police officials in our village demand huge amount of bribe in Bangladesh to respond to the identification

letters." "Some of us even have Identity Cards, but our papers are not processed,"

"We are away from our families and they are in deep trouble as the earning members of the families are held up

here. We speak to our family members over phone from here, but the authorities seem to be unaware of their

whereabouts," Mohd told LOA. "Even UN is not taking up our issue with Indian Government. Give us thefreedom every human being aspires for,” he pleads.

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | ISSUE 27 | 17 FEB 2012

Persecution of Rohingyas

According to Amnesty International, the Rohingya people have continued to suffer from human rights violations

under the Myanmar junta since 1978, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result:

Recently the Rohingya boat-people dead body

was seen floating in the Naf River

"The Rohingyas' freedom of movement is

severely restricted and the vast majority of

them have effectively been denied Myanmar

citizenship. They are also subjected to various

forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land

confiscation; forced eviction and house

destruction; and financial restrictions on

marriage. Rohingyas continue to be used as

forced labourers on roads and at military camps, although the amount of forced labour in northern Rakhine

(Arakan) State has decreased over the last decade."

"In 1978 over estimated number of 300,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, following the 'Nagamin' ('Dragon

King') operation of the Myanmar army. Officially this campaign aimed at "scrutinising each individual living in

the state, designating citizens and foreigners in accordance with the law and taking actions against foreigners

who have filtered into the country illegally". This military campaign directly targeted civilians, and resulted in

widespread killings, rape and destruction."

"During 1991-92 a new wave of the estimated number of a quarter of a million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh.

They reported widespread forced labour, as well as summary executions, torture, and rape. Rohingyas were

forced to work without pay by the Myanmar army on infrastructure and economic projects, often under harsh

conditions. Many other human rights violations occurred in the context of forced labour of Rohingya civilians by

the security forces."

Rohingyas or Bangladeshis?

The boatpeople pushed deep into the sea to drift by Thai authorities and reached the Andaman shores facing

hardships and ordeals now face a major crisis - Burmese does not recognize Rohingyas/Arakanese as their

citizens, and many of them living in Bangladesh does not possess any paper from Bangladesh government.

Most of these state-less people were living in the border towns of Bangladesh. Two-third of us is from Cox Bazar

in Bangladesh.



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Under Burmese law, the Rohingyas are de jure stateless, but they fare little better in Bangladesh. Most

Rohingyas in Bangladesh have no legal rights and few employment opportunities. Hence, they try to move to

Thailand and Malaysia. "As we are landless, our families live in rented houses there," said Abdul Rehman, who

had crossed from Myanmar and living with his family in Cox Bazar. "We would like to go back to our families in

Bangladesh," he said. ##

News Analysis Friday, February 24, 2012, PHUKET WAN, Thailand

ROHINGYA REMAIN UNWANTED AS SECRECY COVERS TREATMENT OF BOATPEOPLE

By Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian

PHUKET: A compact between Thailand and neighboring countries is keeping treatment of Rohingya boatpeople

secret as details are emerging of their continued imprisonment in India, on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

About 400 boatpeople remain in detention on

the isolated islands in the middle of the Indian

Ocean more than three years on from Thailand's

notorious ''pushbacks,'' says a new investigation. ''Abandoned by both Burma

(Myanmar) and Bangladesh, their fate hangs in

balance, with an indecisive government policy

and the sluggish pace of repatriation,'' writes

journalist Zubair Ahmed in the 'Light of

Andamans' online magazine.

Rohingya who landed on Phuket last year await

their fate Photo by phuketwan.com/file

Fishermen from Thailand, Burma andBangladesh caught off the Andaman and Nicobar islands will be repatriated, a local police officer said. But the

Rohingya are stateless so nobody wants them back, and there is nowhere for them to go.

Phuketwan has recently confirmed that Burma's policy of the slow but steady ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya

remains in place despite hope in the West that repression in the dictatorship will cease as it embraces

democracy.

A small number of Rohingya who have been granted the right to

live and work on Phuket have recently been denied passports by

the new ''democratic'' government of Burma despite their

birth there, and in some cases despite having parents and

grandparents who were raised as Burmese.

Around the region, a blanket of secrecy has been thrown over

the apprehension of Rohingya boatpeople, obscuring both their

treatment in captivity and their future.

Vice Admiral Thavatorn Thinsuwan, Commander of Royal Thai

Navy 3, which patrols Thailand's Andaman coast from bases on

Phuket and Phang Nga, acknowledged this week that Thailand

was working with Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to ward



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off piracy with regular air patrols.

But he was less ready to say what the

compact between the countries meant

for the Rohingya boatpeople, whose

vessels would be more easily spotted in

aerial surveys than by navy patrols in the

Andaman Sea.

Rohingya Boat-people before releasing secretly into international water by Thai-

forces

While Burma is becoming more open and

seemingly democratic, its most abhorrent

policy - the denial of citizenship and

rights to the Rohingya - remains in place and is being given tacit support by a conspiracy of silence among the

governments of the region.

When Phuketwan journalists, working with the South China Morning Post newspaper, in January 2009 exposed

the covert ''pushbacks'' that were the then Thai government's response to growing numbers of Rohingyaboatpeople, we thought the secrecy would come to an end.

After a period of openness during which Rohingya boatpeople in Thailand were treated as other illegal

detainees are treated, the policy surrounding the would-be refugees - among the world's most oppressed

people - has become secret again.

The rescue Rohingya Boat People by the Indian

Coastguards in the Andaman Islands.

Because Burma point-blank refuses to grant

citizenship to the Muslim Rohingya - despitetheir centuries of history there - those who flee

can never go home. Neighboring countries are

adopting the only practical solution left to

them: a covert back-door policy that basically

involves tacitly supporting the handling of

boatpeople by people traffickers.

Vice Admiral Taratorn was reticent to go into

details when he talked to journalists on Phuket this week but he did say that the Navy and Thailand upheld UN

principles of human rights. That wasn't the case in 2009, when the reprensible ''pushbacks'' by other

branches of the Thai military led to the deaths of hundreds of boatpeople and aroused concern around the

region and the world.

Now for the first time, Zubair Ahmed has reported on the fate of the survivors, who remain trapped in the

Andaman and Nicobar islands with no obvious hope of being returned to their homes in Burma or Bangladesh.

One survivor, Ghulam Kadir, 25, told Ahmed: ''Its three years now, and we have not done anything wrong. We

were first persecuted by the Burmese Junta, pushed by the Thais into the face of death.

''The Indian government has been very sympathetic to us, but how can we continue to remain in a detention

camp like this?'' Indian Navy senior officers have been engaged in talks with their peers in Thailand but when it

comes to the Rohingya, no questions are being answered.



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Ahmed says 422 boatpeople continue to ''languish'' in three dormitories in a centre known as the Distress

Camp. About 270 have been repatriated - but not those who are bold enough to declare they are Rohingya. Of

the detainees, Ahmed writes: ''They all look well-fed and clothed. However, they are unable to accept their fate,

of living as prisoners without any hope.''

Boatpeople who have been apprehended in Thailand in recent times - including the occupants of a ricketty

vessel that landed on the international holiday island of Phuket last year - have simply vanished. The suspicion

is that they have been passed on to smugglers.

Rohingya from Burma landed on the Southern Thailand in last December

Non-government organisations say

that despite the covert nature of the

process, their sense is that the

Rohingya who come ashore in

Thailand are not being mistreated

and are simply being ''helped on,''

often to Muslim-majority Malaysia.

Efforts have been made, though, tostop the boats leaving northern

Burma or neighboring Bangladesh,

where many Rohingya live unsettled

lives in refugee camps. Aid workers say that although there was once intense interest, especially among

European Governments, in the fate of the Rohingya, that interest has tapered off with the apparent ''Burma

spring'' of voluntary reforms.

Yet while the world openly embraces the new

Burma, the policy of ethnically cleansing the

country of its resident Muslims remain

unchanged. So does the abject hopelessness of the Rohingya people. ##

====== END ======

Rohingyas Boat People - Endless Wait for Repatriation

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