How Bangladesh’s traffickers are targeting Rohingya women at refugee camp

Special Rohingya women refugees leave the beach for their tents at Balohan ferry port in Sabang, Indonesia’s Aceh province. (File/AFP)
Rohingya women refugees leave the beach for their tents at Balohan ferry port in Sabang, Indonesia’s Aceh province. (File/AFP)
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Updated 09 July 2024
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How Bangladesh’s traffickers are targeting Rohingya women at refugee camp

Rohingya women refugees leave the beach for their tents at Balohan ferry port in Sabang, Indonesia’s Aceh province. (File/AFP)
  • Conditions in Cox’s Bazar camp are ‘inhumane,’ Amnesty International has said 
  • Many women are trafficked amid increasing frustration, uncertainties 

DHAKA: A rising number of Rohingya women in Bangladesh are being targeted by human traffickers who offer them an escape from deteriorating conditions in the world’s largest refugee camp.

Nearly 1 million Rohingya people are living in squalid conditions in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, which Amnesty International described as “inhumane” last year. Refugees are not allowed to leave the fenced area and are trapped inside with limited food, water and electricity. 

Thousands have been trying to flee the overcrowded Bangladeshi camp in recent years, hoping to seek a better life elsewhere, often with the help of human trafficking networks.

“Human trafficking is undoubtedly a problem here. From the government’s side, we are trying to combat this,” Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told Arab News on Tuesday.

“Women and children are being trafficked in many cases, and this is derived from absolute frustration and penniless situations.”

Some 569 Rohingya — out of almost 4,500 — died or went missing in 2023 while trying to relocate to another country through deadly sea crossings, often on rickety boats, the highest figure in nine years, according to data from the UN Refugee Agency.

Many are taken to Malaysia and Indonesia, with Jakarta blaming human traffickers for the increasing number of Rohingya entering the country by boat late last year.

Rahman said that many women take the perilous sea journeys “with the aim of getting married to a Rohingya man” who may have relocated to a country in Southeast Asia.

He said: “Most of the Rohingya living in Malaysia are male. They get married to Rohingya girls living in the camps through (contact by) mobile phones. Later, the male sends money to bring the wife to Malaysia.”

In such cases, the Rohingya involved would “make contact with the human traffickers” to circumvent their lack of legal documents to travel.

Rahman added: “In this process, sometimes they become successful, and sometimes they end up in abusive situations. Sometimes they die by drowning at sea.”

The predominantly Muslim Rohingya people — referred to by the UN as the “world’s most persecuted minority” — have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar.

More than 730,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh in 2017 after a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar military, which the UN said amounted to genocide.

The Rohingya in Bangladesh have faced restrictions on movement and work in the years since, forcing them into being idle amid growing uncertainties over their future, dwindling international aid and languishing attempts for a dignified repatriation.

Dhaka-based migration expert Asif Munir told Arab News: “There’s no permanent solution in sight in the camp-life situation; this has created frustration among the camp population.

“The Rohingya population is vulnerable and also densely populated. In terms of the network of traffickers, they can move more freely and sort of exploit the women who are already in a vulnerable condition within the camps.”

Even the presence of law enforcement officers is not enough to keep up with the Rohingya population, Munir said, as authorities also have to deal with security incidents involving armed groups within and around the refugee camp.

For many Rohingya women, life in Cox’s Bazar is layered with challenges. Many of them have been exploited by local Bangladeshi men with promises of marriage, or lured into commercial sex work.

Munir added: “In a way, they feel at least that if they are somehow able to go to Malaysia, they would have a better life, even if it’s not very legal.

“Traffickers and smugglers are ready to provide the service in exchange for money. And for the women who feel that they’re backed up against a wall, this is an option.”


Putin says China is Russia’s ally, backs its stance on Taiwan

Putin says China is Russia’s ally, backs its stance on Taiwan
Updated 8 sec ago
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Putin says China is Russia’s ally, backs its stance on Taiwan

Putin says China is Russia’s ally, backs its stance on Taiwan
  • The two countries have not declared a formal military alliance, but have signed a ‘no limits’ partnership deal in 2022
  • Putin suggested that Taiwan was trying to stir up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia in order to attract outside support
SOCHI, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin described China on Thursday as Russia’s ally and threw his weight behind Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, while stating that no countries had anything to fear from deepening Sino-Russian co-operation.
The two countries have not declared a formal military alliance, but Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a “no limits” partnership deal in 2022, less than three weeks before Putin sent his troops into Ukraine.
In May this year they agreed to deepen what they called their “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” for a new era.
“We do not believe that China is pursuing an aggressive policy in the region,” Putin said at the Valdai discussion club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
He suggested that Taiwan was trying to stir up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia in order to attract outside support.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite strong objections by the government in Taipei, and regularly holds wargames near the island.
“A lot is going on around Taiwan,” Putin said. “Everyone formally acknowledges, yes, Taiwan is part of China. But in reality? In reality, it is acting in a completely different direction. Provoking the situation toward escalation.
“We do support China. And because of this, we believe that (China) is conducting a completely reasonable policy. And also because it is our ally. We have a very large trade turnover, we co-operate in the security sector.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said China and Russia were the real problem.
“The regime of Russia’s Putin launched a war of aggression against Ukraine, leading to misery for Ukraine’s people and sanctions and condemnation from the international community,” it said in a statement.
“China and Russia together continue to undermine the rule-based international order and have become a serious threat to world peace and stability.”
Putin compared military drills between Russia and China to those the United States holds with Japan.
“These exercises do not threaten anyone,” Putin said. “They are aimed at ensuring our security.”

Swiss ‘burqa ban,’ condemned by Muslims, to take effect from Jan. 1, 2025

Swiss ‘burqa ban,’ condemned by Muslims, to take effect from Jan. 1, 2025
Updated 51 min 43 sec ago
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Swiss ‘burqa ban,’ condemned by Muslims, to take effect from Jan. 1, 2025

Swiss ‘burqa ban,’ condemned by Muslims, to take effect from Jan. 1, 2025
  • Anyone who unlawfully flouts the ban faces a fine of up to $1,144
  • Facial coverings remain permitted for reasons relating to health, safety

ZURICH: A contentious Swiss prohibition on facial coverings in public spaces widely known as the “burqa ban” will take effect on Jan. 1, the government said on Wednesday.
Narrowly passed in a 2021 referendum in neutral Switzerland, and condemned by Muslim associations, the measure was launched by the same group that organized a 2009 ban on new minarets.
The governing Federal Council said in a statement it had fixed the start of the ban, and that anyone who unlawfully flouts it faces a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,144).
The ban does not apply to planes or in diplomatic and consular premises, and faces may also be covered in places of worship and other sacred sites, the government said.
Facial coverings will remain permitted for reasons relating to health and safety, for native customs, or due to weather conditions, it said. They would also be allowed on artistic and entertainment grounds and for advertising, it added.
If such coverings are needed for personal protection in exercising freedom of expression and assembly, they should be permitted provided the responsible authority has already approved them and public order is not compromised, it said.
 


Two separatist militants, two government-run militia members killed in Indian-administered Kashmir

Two separatist militants, two government-run militia members killed in Indian-administered Kashmir
Updated 58 min 34 sec ago
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Two separatist militants, two government-run militia members killed in Indian-administered Kashmir

Two separatist militants, two government-run militia members killed in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • Militants in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989
  • Many support rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as independent country

NEW DELHI: Two suspected militants were killed in a gunfight with government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir, officials said Friday, while assailants killed two members of a government-sponsored militia elsewhere in the disputed region.
The region, divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety, has experienced an increase in violence in recent weeks.
The Indian military said a joint team of soldiers and police raided a village near northwestern Sopore town late Thursday following a tip about the presence of a group of militants.
The militants “fired indiscriminately” at the troops, leading to a gunbattle in which two were killed, the military said in a statement.
Troops were continuing to search the area, it said. There was no independent confirmation of the incident.
Meanwhile, assailants killed two members of a government-run militia called the “Village Defense Group” in the remote southern Kishtwar area late Thursday, officials said.
Police blamed rebels fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir for the killings.
The two were abducted from a forested area where they had gone to graze cattle on Thursday. Their bodies were found late Thursday, police said.
The militia was initially formed in the 1990s as a defense against anti-India insurgents in remote Himalayan villages that government forces could not reach quickly. As the insurgency waned in their areas and as some militia members gained notoriety for brutality and rights violations, the militia was largely disbanded.
However last year, after the killing of seven Hindus in two attacks in a remote mountainous village near the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, authorities revived the militia and began rearming and training thousands of villagers, including some teenagers.
The Kashmir Tigers, which Indian officials say is an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, claimed responsibility for the killings of the two in a statement on social media. The statement could not be independently verified.
Militants in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is “Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.” Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
 


Philippine president signs new laws to assert South China Sea rights, sovereignty

Philippine president signs new laws to assert South China Sea rights, sovereignty
Updated 08 November 2024
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Philippine president signs new laws to assert South China Sea rights, sovereignty

Philippine president signs new laws to assert South China Sea rights, sovereignty
  • China summons Philippine ambassador to lodge solemn representations over the new laws
  • Unclear if laws could reduce incidents with China in Manila’s exclusive economic zone

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws on Friday aimed at strengthening the country’s maritime claims and bolstering its territorial integrity, as tensions with China over disputed areas in the South China Sea persist.
The Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act would define the Philippines’ maritime entitlements and set designated sea lanes and air routes to reinforce sovereignty and maritime rights under international law.
China has summoned the Philippine ambassador to lodge solemn representations over two new laws, its foreign ministry said on Friday.
Marcos hailed the laws as a demonstration of the Philippines’ commitment to uphold an international rules-based order, and protect its rights to exploit resources peacefully in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Our people, especially our fisher folk, should be able to pursue their livelihood free from uncertainty and harassment,” Marcos said. “We must be able to harness mineral and energy resources in our sea bed.”
While the two laws were envisioned to help US ally the Philippines to monitor and defend against potential encroachment, questions remain about how they will be enforced and if they will impact Chinese activity in the Philippine EEZ.
China asserts its claim of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea through an armada of coast guard ships, some of which are accused by its neighbors of aggressive conduct and of trying to disrupt energy and fisheries activity in their EEZs.
Senator Francis Tolentino, one of the authors of the maritime zones measure, said he does not expect tensions in Philippine EEZ will be instantly reduced with the implementation of the new laws.
“China will not recognize these, but the imprimatur that we’ll be getting from the international community would strengthen our position,” Tolentino told a press conference.
China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new laws and senator’s remarks.
Tolentino also said the laws would reinforce a 2016 arbitration ruling on the South China Sea, which declared China’s expansive claims had no basis under international law. China has rejected the 2016 decision.


Hungary PM Orban says Europe cannot finance Ukraine war alone

Hungary PM Orban says Europe cannot finance Ukraine war alone
Updated 08 November 2024
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Hungary PM Orban says Europe cannot finance Ukraine war alone

Hungary PM Orban says Europe cannot finance Ukraine war alone
  • Viktor Orban: ‘The Americans will quit this war, first of all they will not encourage the war’

BUDAPEST: The United States under the presidency of Donald Trump will “quit” the war in Ukraine and Europe cannot finance this war alone, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday before an informal summit of EU leaders in Budapest.
“The Americans will quit this war, first of all they will not encourage the war,” Orban said. “Europe cannot finance this war alone ... some still want to continue sending enormous amounts of money into this lost war but the number of those who remain silent ...and those who cautiously voice that we should adjust to the new situation, is growing.”