Rohingya: What is the cure for this cancer

If cancer develops in any part of the body and it is not detected in its early stage, the disease spreads throughout the body. At a certain stage, treatment is no longer effective. That is, treatment no longer works. After suffering for a while, the patient dies. However, if cancer is detected at earlier stage, the patient recovers with treatment. Although it involves considerable effort and cost, at least the life is saved.

Bangladesh is also afflicted with such a cancer. This cancer is trying to spread all over the country. Although the disease has been identified, its spread is not being stopped. If the spread of this cancer is not prevented now, Bangladesh will have to suffer greatly. Eventually, it may even be necessary to amputate a limb.

Dear reader, I was referring to the Rohingya refugees. They are trying to spread all over the country. In exchange for money, some dishonest individuals in this country are providing them with national identity cards (NIDs). A group of officials are also issuing them passports. Due to these enemies of the nation, many Rohingya have travelled abroad using Bangladeshi passports. They are committing crimes there, and Bangladesh is bearing the consequences. As a result, our reputation is being tarnished. At some point, Bangladeshis may be banned from the labour markets of those countries.

The spread of the Rohingya refugees across the country is not new. Many Rohingyas who arrived long ago have married and settled in Bangladesh. They have lived here for so many years that identifying them as citizens of Myanmar is now quite difficult. Most of those who arrived after 2017 are living in camps in Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char in Noakhali. Many of them are trying to spread across the country. Some have been detained and sent back to the camps, but their efforts have not ceased. I would like to highlight a few incidents as examples.

On January 16, locals detained nine Rohingyas who had fled from the Bhasan Char camp located at the island upazila of Hatiya in Noakhali. Around 7:30pm, they were apprehended from the Parki sea beach area in Anwara upazila of Chattogram and handed over to the police. On September 2 last year, a Rohingya was detained at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram while attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia using a Bangladeshi passport. During interrogation by immigration police, he admitted to being Rohingya.

Two Rohingyas were detained while trying to obtain passports in Mymensingh on December 19, 2023. Deputy Director of the Mymensingh Regional Passport Office Mohammad Shahadat Hossain detained them. The detained Rohingyas were Nasima and Sayeed, residents of the Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar. On November 22 of that year, another Rohingya named Md Sabuj was detained at the Kushtia Regional Office while trying to obtain a passport. He used a voter ID card issued in his name from the District Election Office and provided the address of Jhalupara in Ward 16 of Kushtia Municipality. After completing the application and other formalities, he was detained when his fingerprint did not match. During interrogation, he admitted to being Rohingya. In addition, Rohingyas have been detained while trying to obtain passports in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Kurigram, Jashore, and Barguna. In short, they are trying to spread from Teknaf to Tetulia. In various places, they have acquired identity cards and become citizens.

How many Rohingya hold Bangladeshi passports
No one has an exact data about how many Rohingyas possess Bangladeshi passports. In 2018, then Expatriates' Welfare Minister Nurul Islam stated that nearly 250,000 Rohingya had illegally obtained Bangladeshi passports and travelled abroad. As a result, Bangladeshi workers are facing an image crisis.

Investigations reveal that brokers, in collusion with passport office officials and in exchange for bribes, facilitate the acquisition of passports for the Rohingyas. Who knows how many more Rohingyas have obtained Bangladeshi passports over the past seven years? But the matter doesn’t end there. There are 69,000 Rohingyas in Saudi Arabia. Since 1975, Rohingyas have taken refuge in Saudi Arabia in several phases. Many of these Rohingyas went there with Bangladeshi passports. Others obtained Bangladeshi passports while residing in Saudi Arabia. Their passports have now expired. In May last year, the Bangladesh government agreed to renew the passports of these Rohingyas. An agreement on this was reached between Dhaka and Riyadh.

50,000 Rohingya voters
Through collusion between dishonest public representatives and election officials, 50,000 Rohingya have become voters. Media reports state that each paid between Tk 1-1.5 lakh. Law enforcement agencies are arresting and bringing the criminals involved to justice. During the first update of the voter list by the Election Commission, 50,000 Rohingya voters were identified in various border upazilas. After verifying appropriate information and evidence, the registration of 42,000 Rohingya voters was cancelled.

Crimes in refugee camps
There is hardly any crime that does not occur in the Rohingya camps. A thriving trade in arms and drugs exists there. Human trafficking also takes place. In seven months, members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) arrested 23 individuals in 16 arms-related cases. Among the weapons seized were 24 one-shooter guns. During the same period, 35 individuals were arrested in 31 drug cases. A large quantity of drugs, including crystal meth and yaba, was seized. Among these were 70,000 yaba tablets. These firearms are being smuggled into the camps from Myanmar.

Simultaneously, weapons are also being manufactured in various locations, including Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar. These weapons serve as the main tools in power struggles. The groups involved are: ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army), RSO (Rohingya Solidarity Organisation), Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), Nabi Hossain group (group leader killed), Master Munna group, Dil Mohammad alias Mars group, Dacoit Salman group, and Dacoit Saddam group. Due to the activities of these groups, 202 murders occurred between January 2020 and November 2024. Conflicts between ARSA, RSO, and ARA alone accounted for 67 percent of these murders. These conflicts have arisen primarily from disputes over arms and drug trade. Over the past four years, 202 people were killed in clashes among these eight groups. Many others were injured. Additionally, the Rohingyas are involved in terrible crimes such as theft, robbery, mugging, abduction, and rape. They are involved in clashes almost daily. Locals have become helpless due to their fear. Analysis of statistics shows that the highest number of 73 murders occurred in 2023. Moreover, there were 10 in 2020; 30 in 2021; 31 in 2022; and 58 in 2024.

Population pressure
The 2022 Population and Housing Census estimates Bangladesh’s population at 171.59 million. On average, 1,119 people live per square kilometre. The country is already overpopulated. Arable land is decreasing day by day. Although food production has increased through the use of technology, there remains a heavy reliance on imports. Under such circumstances, the Rohingya population has become a major burden for Bangladesh. In 2017, following an attack on a military outpost, Myanmar’s army launched ethnic cleansing in Rakhine. The main victims were the minority Muslim Rohingyas. Their homes were burned. Mass killings were carried out and women were raped. Eventually, they began gathering at the Bangladesh border. Under pressure from various international organisations and political parties in Bangladesh, the government opened the border. On August 25, the Rohingya influx began. Within a few months, 750,000 Rohingya refugees took shelter at Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas in Cox’s Bazar. Already, another 400,000 Rohingyas were residing in camps there.

Since then, many more people have been born there. Rohingya leader Zubair has stated that currently, more than 1.3 million registered Rohingyas live in 33 camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf. Additionally, a large number reside in Bhasan Char, Noakhali. Recently, another 118,000 Rohingyas have arrived. In total, more than 1.5 million Rohingya refugees are living in Bangladesh. International organisations are providing only minimal support for these unemployed people. The remaining expenses are being borne by the Bangladesh government. Forests have been cleared to build shelters for them. The environment is under threat. The lives of locals have also been adversely affected. Due to the Rohingyas, they have become cornered. Their sources of employment have shrunk.

Rohingyas bringing new dangers
The Bangladesh government has long been trying to repatriate the 1.3 million Rohingyas living in the refugee camps. Alongside Myanmar’s military regime, the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus has begun communication with the Arakan Army. But these efforts are on the verge of failure — because of the Rohingyas themselves.

The International Crisis Group says that the Rohingyas are preparing to fight the Arakan Army. Armed groups are uniting. Under the guise of religion, they are drawing young men into armed struggle. At one point, they were against the junta forces and supported the Arakan Army. But now they are siding with the junta and preparing to fight the Arakan Army. After taking control of Rakhine State, the Arakan Army began oppressing the Rohingyas. Armed Rohingya groups have already started attacking the Arakan Army in Rakhine and are training fighters in border camps. If these armed activities intensify, it will bring grave harm to Rohingya civilians, the Arakan Army, and Bangladesh. The chances of a successful campaign by the Rohingyas against the Arakan Army are slim.

If these groups become directly involved in conflict, Bangladesh’s repatriation efforts may be harmed, and anti-Rohingya sentiment in Myanmar could intensify. This would increase the risk of more bloodshed between the majority Buddhists of Rakhine and the minority Muslim Rohingyas, pushing the Rohingyas there to flee across the border into Bangladesh. It would also make it more difficult for the Bangladesh government to maintain communication with the Arakan Army. The Arakan Army believes that Dhaka is supporting the armed Rohingya groups. (BBC, June 19, 2025)

Dhaka denies that the Rohingya are preparing for armed conflict against the Arakan Army. Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Commissioner for Refugee Relief and Repatriation, said claims of armed activities and training in the camps are untrue. “There is no evidence of what they are saying,” he stated. “We are constantly monitoring the camps. Law enforcement personnel are patrolling. It is impossible that these things would happen under their watch.”

According to security analyst retired Major General ANM Muniruzzaman, if war breaks out between the Rohingyas and the Arakan Army, the Rohingya camps will become unsafe. The Arakan Army may enter and attack its opponents there. Overall, the issue would pose a severe threat to the country’s security and sovereignty.

Way of salvation
Myanmar has repeatedly promised to take the Rohingya back, but has not kept its word. Now the path to repatriation must be said to be closed. Discussions regarding their return were held with the junta government, but their homes are in Rakhine State. That state is now controlled by rebels. Fierce battles often occur there between government forces and insurgents. Therefore, their repatriation is uncertain. But does that mean repatriation is impossible? No. It is certainly possible. The United Nations must take responsibility. Under UN supervision, a safe zone could be established for them either in Rakhine or in a nearby Chinese province. The responsibility for security would lie with UN peacekeepers.

Sirajul Islam: Journalist