State Minister hopeful Rohingyas can be repatriated
Shama Obaed Islam. File Photo
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam has expressed hope that the displaced Rohingyas who have taken refuge in Bangladesh can be repatriated to Myanmar.
She expressed the hope at a dialogue on the Rohingya crisis held at a hotel in Gulshan in the capital on Sunday. The Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) and Oxfam in Bangladesh organized the dialogue titled “A Decade of the Rohingya Crisis: From Humanitarian Assistance to Sustainable Solutions.”
The state minister said Bangladesh had successfully repatriated Rohingyas in 1978 under the leadership of President Ziaur Rahman and in 1992 under the leadership of then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. She said that experience will also be used this time.
Shama Obaed said 10 years may be a policy making period for any government. But for a child growing up in a refugee camp it is their entire childhood. For a young person it is a period of lost educational opportunities. For a family it is a long decade of being homeless. For a community it is a generation growing up amid uncertainty.
She further said, “We must not allow these 10 years to turn into 50 years. The safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas is our main goal. A refugee camp can never be a permanent alternative to a person's own homeland.”
The state minister said the international community needs to play a more active role in resolving the Rohingya crisis. According to her, Bangladesh cannot resolve alone a crisis that it did not create. Bangladesh can provide shelter and humanitarian assistance and help protect the dignity of the Rohingyas.
Bangladesh responded to the humanitarian situation in 2017 when a massive influx of Rohingyas entered the country. More than 1.2 million Rohingyas are currently staying in Bangladesh.
