The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Saturday, 16 July 2011 12:46 Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh:  Local villagers from Fawliyapara (Village) armed with wood and bamboo sticks, pickaxes, mattocks, swords, knives and bamboo spears attacked Rohingya refugees (registered and unregistered) in Kutupalong camp today at 10 a.m. Twenty refugees were seriously injured including four women, said a refugee elder from the camp. Nowbi Husson, the victim of local people who attack the Rohingya refugee camp today “More than 100 local people and police personnel came to the western and northern sides of the camp where the unregistered block D-3 and registered camp west side are. Most of the refugees were busy with their daily lives at that times.” “The police personnel only waited behind the local people, and didn’t join while the locals attacked the refugees.” Musa, the victim of local who attacked the Rohingya refugee camp today “The local people first attacked the unregistered camp where the local destroyed some shacks. Some refugees

Teknaf, Bangladesh:  The security police of Nayapara Official Refugee Camp arrested a registered refugee on July 12 who went outside the camp for his personal purpose, said Kala Mea, a refugee from the camp. Kabir Ahamed, 32, Block-C of Nayapara camp, went to Teknaf to buy goods without the knowledge or permission of camp authorities. He was arrested by police while re-entering the camp from a brick field near the camp. Kabir has a shop inside the refugee camp. He sells household goods and other essential goods with the understanding of camp security police. However, the camp security police arrested Kabir and his aunt who has a Nonfood Item (NFI) data sheet of UNHCR. She also went to Teknaf. After arrest, the two were brought to Nayapara Police Camp for investigation. The Camp-in-Charge and police officer alleged that they went outside the camp without the knowledge of camp authorities. Yesterday, Kabir’s family members complained to the UNHCR about the incident. The UNHCR sai

Teknaf, Bangladesh:  Diarrhea is affecting many in the Lada unofficial refugee camp recently, said a refugee from the camp. The view of Lada camp in the raining season Some refugees from Lada camp have been suffering with diarrhea for over a week as the conditions in the camp are very unsanitary. Liala Begum, 27, wife of Mohamed Alam, Block-C of Lada camp, has been suffering with diarrhea. She has tried to reach the health officers from Muslim Aid, but has failed as the health center is closed at night, according to Hamza, a relative of Liala. “There is a diarrhea center in the camp, but it’s closed without notice at the night.” While her condition became serious, she went to a local doctor at night and took oral saline. So far, there is no information about deaths in the camp from diarrhea. If the situation continues in the camp, refugees fear that diarrhea will eventually kill refugees. The camp has over 1,200 unregistered refugees, who fled from Burma because of po

A medical aid organisation accuses most of the Norwegian media for not doing its job properly when it comes to reporting global human crises. Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh Photo: Juan Carlos Tomasi/Leger Uten Grenser “We get very frustrated after getting back from working as doctors in the field when we see there has been no coverage of many of these  [crises] ,” Doctor Morten Rostrup of Leger Uten Grenser, the Norwegian arm of  Médecins Sans Frontières , tells The Foreigner. He argues media attention is very important for these crises to change, and blames the press for its shortsightedness. “Basically, the media only reports on these if either Norway or Norwegians are involved, which also leads to no political interest. It blames lack of resources, the need for quick, pertinent news, even small travel budgets.” Results of an opinion poll conducted by Norstat show many Norwegians want more facts. Dr Rostrup finds it puzzling why, therefore, so little reporting is done. “The Norweg

Written by:  DVB By Michael Gabaudan It’s the “Rohingya problem.” Burma’s history of brutal persecution of the Rohingya – coupled with their lack of citizenship rights – have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s Minister of Food and Disaster Management, Abdul Razzaque, recently blamed western countries for “keeping the problem alive.” However, western countries are not to blame for keeping the “Rohingya problem” alive. The plight of the Rohingya originates with the Burmese government’s abuses of this minority. Numerous Rohingya refugees say they can barely sleep at night in Burma due to the constant fear of the NaSaKa, or border police, at their door. However, persecution of the Rohingya is made worse by Bangladesh’s failure to respond in a humane manner to this refugee crisis. Bangladesh’s intransigence in refusing to allow protection and assistance to this very vulnerable and desperate population has only exacerbated one of the wor

Chittagong, Bangladesh:  Rohingyas inside Burma and abroad welcome the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) resolution number 4/38-MM “On the situation of the Muslim community in Burma” from the 38th Session of Council Foreign Ministers which was held from June 28-30, 2011, in the Astana Republic of Kazakhstan, according to a politician from inside Arakan who declined to be named.   The OIC adopted the following resolutions regarding the situation of the Muslim community in Burma: Calls on Member States to extend all possible forms of support and assistance to Burmese Muslims, and particularly to those among them living as refugees outside their homeland; Calls upon on the government of Burma to put an end to operations of displacement, expulsion, and exile of Rohingya Muslims, and to the continued attempt to eradicate their Islamic Culture and Identity, and urges government authorities to respect the text on international legitimacy of human rights; Expresses deep concern ove

For Immediate Press Release July 7, 2011 Media Contact: Jennifer Quigley at (202) 234 8022 (Washington, DC, July 7, 2011) The U. S. Campaign for Burma (USCB), 21 other respected human rights organizations and one individual in the United States today strongly urged U.S. President Obama to take action on Burma by implementing banking sanctions against the regime and their cronies, and by leading the push for a UN Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes humanity in Burma. USCB is a Washington, DC-based human rights organization campaigning to end crimes against humanity and the culture of impunity in the Southeast Asian country of Burma This joint pressure regarding the Obama administration’s policy on Burma is an exceptional example of the necessity for increased action against Burma’s military regime. Organizations that signed on to the letter include:  American Center for International Labor Solidarity,  AFL-CIO,  American Federation of Teachers, American Jewish World Serv

Ukhiya, Bangladesh:  Three days of heavy rain has destroyed many residential huts in the unregistered Rohingya refugee camp of Kutupalong, said an elder from the camp. Heavy rain and wind destroyed the shack in Kutupalong refugee camp “The unregistered Rohingya refugees are now facing difficulties to live in their shacks as the roofs of the shacks have been damaged by wind and heavy rain. When the rain falls inside the shacks, the refugees can’t stay inside.” “The refugees are also facing food shortages as the rain doesn’t allow the refugees to work outside the camp to collect firewood, pull rickshaws, etc.” “Some huts were completely destroyed by the heavy rain and wind, so the refugees can’t sleep in their huts.” “The refugees are not able to rebuild their shacks because of severe lack of finances. There is no way for them. They will face starvation if they use their only money to rebuild their shacks,” said a refugee committee member. “We have been living in the Kutupalon

By DVB Published: 6 July 2011 Flimsy huts spawl over the hillside at the Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh (Joseph Allchin) Days of heavy rain in eastern Bangladesh have sparked panic in the unofficial Kutupalong camp that houses tens of thousands of refugees from Burma, with flimsy huts destroyed and food shortages worsening. A Kutupalong camp committee member told the Bangladesh-based Kaladan Press Network yesterday that several huts had been washed out, while many others had lost roofs. Concerns have also mounted about the ability of the refugees in the camp, none of whom are recognised by the UN’s refugee agency and thus receive no UN assistance, to provide food for themselves, with their normal means of making money scuppered by the extreme weather conditions. Kutupalong houses thousands of refugees from the Rohingya minority, which have fled their native Arakan state in western Burma following systematic persecution by the Burmese government, which refuses to grant them citizens

Photo: Reuters Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her son Kim Aris (not pictured) visit the ancient Ananda Pagoda in Bagan, Burma, July 5, 2011. Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says some people, both at home and abroad, have deceived themselves into thinking a new government has brought change to her country. The popular political leader made the remark in response to questions after a  lecture broadcast Tuesday by the British Broadcasting Corporation . It was the second of two lectures to be secretly recorded in Burma by the British broadcasters and smuggled to London for airing. Asked by a listener whether some people have been fooled into thinking Burma's new leadership is different from the military junta that ruled for decades, Aung San Suu Kyi said some people are so desperate for change that they see it where it does not exist. She added that there have been "lots of beautiful words," but she has seen no real changes yet. The broadcast

By  Joseph Allchin Why has the Bangladesh government rejected a USD 33 million aid package from the UN? Under the Teknaf sun :   The new border fence runs near the Kutapalong refugee camp Photos:  Josheph Allchin Under the tormenting sun in Teknaf, on the southeastern tip of Bangladesh, Ahmed puts us straight: it is really all about love. His wife stands next to him in his tarpaulined shop in the unofficial Kutupalong refugee camp in southern Bangladesh. He came here, Ahmed says, to marry his childhood sweetheart, fleeing what Physicians for Human Rights, a watchdog group, describes as ‘flagrant and widespread human rights abuses’ that condemned Ahmed to having to pay an exorbitant bribe just to marry. Today, his 18-month-old baby crawls over small packets of paan and snacks on sale, mimicking his father’s voice unknowingly, describing the indescribable – how Rohingya women were told by the Burmese military that, in order to marry, they would have to have an implant rendering them

Eric P Schwartz FE Report The United States (US) Assistant Secretary for Bureau of  Population , Refugees and Migration (PRM) Mr Eric P Schwartz Thursday said his country will continue providing humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh . "The US will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Bangladeshas the poor and beleaguered Rohingya people have done nothing wrong and did not get their basic rights except persecution and torture by the Myanmar authorities," he told the media at a  press  briefing at the American Centre at Baridhara in the capital. The US diplomat who had visited Kutupalong Rohingya refugees camp and talked with all sections of people said, "I appreciate the efforts taken by theBangladesh government for providing humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees". He suggested that the Rohingya refugees should not be forced to return to their own country unless the situation improves for their safe return. "