It is ironic that Bangladesh which was formed on the alleged abuse of Bengalis has turned on its own in Bangaldesh and beyond. A country formed on Bengali nationalism was unable to bring in the Hindu Bengalis of West Bengal into the new nation. In 195 it became obvious that religion was more important than Bengali language and culture and the bonds of langauge and culture were not strong enough for the Indian Bengalis to join Bangladesh.
The Bengalis of Pakistan left Bangladesh seeking democracy, ”freedom” and Begali secularism–they found none of them in Bangladesh. Right after 1971, Mr. Sheik Mujib Ur Rehman declared himself president for life after banning all other political parties. The same Awami League which constantly harped on the theme of representative democracy and under-representation in the Pakistani government and institutions–created a Stalinist dictatorship in Bangaldesh.
Today the progeny of Mr. Rehman is in charge of Dkaka with widespread charges of electoral fraud and misuse of authority and corruption–the same charges they labeled on the Pakistanis in 1970.
Today’s Sonar Bangla lies tarnished, relations with Bharat (aka) are at an all time low and the creaky economy remains mired in the same malaise that afflicts the rest of South Asia. Bangladesh has not been able to move itself above the other countries of South Asia.
Bangladesh abuses the Rohingyas Muslims who escaped persecution in Myanmar.
Bangladesh-Chittagong Hill Tracts: There are eleven ethnic multi-lingual minorities in the greater CHTs. They are Bawm, Pangkhua, Lushai, Khumi, Mro, Khyang, Chakma, Marma and Tripura. They have been divided in to three groups. The Bawm, Pangkhua, Lushai, Khumi and Mro, Khyang are Kuki-Chin or Kuki group. The Tripura, Riang are Tripura group and the Chakma, Marma, Tonchangya, Chak are Arakanese group. These groups differ from each other in terms of languages. Customs, religious belief and patterns of social organization.The population of the hill people in the CHT are devided as many as 3groups who the numerically superior ones are Arakanese group and the second are theTripura group. The Kuki group are the third in numerical strength.
Ethnic Rohingyas, who are not recognised in their homeland, are packed into camps run by the United Nations in Bangladesh. Another 300,000 live illegally in the country and face attacks by the authorities and destruction of their homes, according to medical group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
The group says it has been treating the Rohingyas at makeshift camps in Kutupalong, southeastern Bangladesh, for trauma wounds as a result of beatings by police.
Some had been forced into a river and told to swim back to Myanmar.
“They claimed they’ve been living in Bangladesh for a number of years and their neighbours have turned on them,” said the head of MSF’s mission in Bangladesh, Paul Critchley.
Most Rohingya in Bangladesh have no documentation and struggle to survive, evading the authorities and working mostly as day labourers, servants or pedicab drivers. They have no rights to education or other government services.
“They cannot receive general food distribution,” Critchley said.
Every year, thousands of minority Muslim Rohingyas flee Myanmar in wooden boats, embarking on a hazardous journey to Thailand or Malaysia in search of a better life.
Some find work as illegal labourers, others are arrested, detained and “repatriated” to a military-ruled country that washed its hands of them decades ago.
Rohingyas say they are deprived of free movement, education and employment in their homeland. They are not recognised as an ethnic minority by Myanmar and say they suffer human rights abuses at the hands of government officials.
Many have sought refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh, living in mud huts covered in plastic sheets and tree branches, which provide poor shelter during monsoon rains that cause mudslides and expose them to waterborne diseases.
Bangladesh says there are about 28,000 registered Rohingya refugees in two U.N. camps near the southeastern resort of Cox’s Bazaar.
Since October last year, a makeshift camp in Kutupalong has grown by more than a quarter, or 6,000 people, with 2,000 of these arriving in January alone.
As the numbers swell, the cramped and unsanitary living conditions pose significant health risks, MSF said.
Three months earlier, Bangladeshi authorities demolished shelters and forcibly removed their inhabitants in an attempt to clear a space around the Kutupalong camp, MSF said.
“MSF witnessed first-hand violence against the unregistered Rohingya, and provided medical care for some of the consequences,” it said in a statement.
MSF said it continued to treat more Rohingyas in the months after for injuries inflicted when they were forcibly evicted.
“MSF has treated patients for beatings, for machete wounds, and for rape. This is continuing today,” it said.
Refugee groups say many impoverished Bangladeshis resent Rohingyas for the pressure they are putting on scarce local services and resources.
David Mathieson, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said the Rohingyas had been victims of a “pattern of abuses” in Bangladesh for more than 30 years and the government had made it clear it wanted rid of them.
“It’s not as if these incidents came out of the blue. They’re part of a very long-running brutal process of making life so uncomfortable for the people in the camp that they’ll return to Burma,” he said, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
“They fled some absolutely horrific human rights violations in their own country. They’re justifiably too frightened to return.”have fled from Myanmar, saying they face often brutal treatment by the ruling military regime.
It is sad to see Bangladesh abuse fellow Muslims–the most vulnerable refugees in Asia.
