With Bangladesh on a knife’s edge, trapped Rohingya refugees are forced to turn to people smugglers or violent gangs

Mass protests have rocked Bangladesh over the past few weeks. The military was deployed to the streets with shoot-on-sight orders. News agencies have reported some 266 deaths, with 7,000 people injured and more than 10,000 arrested.

In addition, a near-total communications blackout cut all internet and mobile phone services for more than a week. A nationwide curfew locked down 170 million people, at first for up to 22 hours a day.

These restrictions have eased somewhat, but troops still patrol urban areas and the curfew remains in force for half the day.

For the Rohingya refugees in the country, the security measures and curfew have made their plight even more desperate.

Read more: Bangladesh protests: brutal security crackdown sparks calls for international probe

Life was already tough for the Rohingya

Nearly 1 million Rohingya have been sheltering in dire conditions in camps since fleeing what the United Nations has described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” across the border in Myanmar.

Despite the initial hospitality of the Bangladeshis, the influx of refugees has put an enormous strain on the country’s social and political systems.

The Bangladesh government has become increasingly impatient with the situation, while locals have become more vocal in expressing their frustration and resentment.

With no international resolution to the refugee crisis in sight, Bangladeshi authorities have progressively increased restrictions on the Rohingya to curtail their movement and prevent them from trying to earn a living in Bangladesh.

With no legal options for paid employment or running a business, World Food Programme vouchers are essential. Yet international aid for the Rohingya refugees has declined sharply, resulting in a US$125 million (A$190 million) shortfall last year. This cut the value of food vouchers to just US$0.27 (A$0.41) per person per day, despite record-high food prices.

People are hungry and desperate, and the shortfall looks worse this year.

Spiralling crime and violence

At the same time, violence has spiralled in the refugee camps. Even before the latest unrest in Bangladesh, armed criminal gangs and insurgent groups had proliferated both inside and surrounding the camps, comprised of both Rohingya and Bengali members.

Drug trafficking, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and murder have been rife. When aid workers and local authorities go home for the evening, the armed gangs inside the camps effectively take control after dark. They are known as the “night government” in the camps.

Repatriation to Myanmar is all but impossible for the Rohingya trapped in Bangladesh. A civil war is raging across the border. The UN said in May that Rohingya had been targeted in reported shootings, beheadings and the torching of villages.

Meanwhile, third countries like Australia, the UK and US have accepted very few Rohingya refugees from the Bangladesh camps. There are currently no pathways for refugees to apply for asylum in another country. It is thus hardly surprising that thousands are turning to people smugglers to try to escape on boats.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has recorded more than 7,700 people boarding 77 boats in the past two years to try to escape to elsewhere in South-East Asia and beyond. Over 800 have been reported dead or missing.

Concerted action by the Bangladeshi authorities and international aid agencies has reduced the number of people trying to flee on boats to just 700 so far this year (with 104 missing or dead). However, the recent unrest in Bangladesh makes the situation in the camps increasingly precarious.

Curfews have trapped the Rohingya

The curfews have not only confined the Rohingya to their tiny huts for up to 22 hours a day, but have also prevented aid workers from entering.

Some crisis support has been provided in the camps, such as emergency health services and food distribution. But otherwise there were almost no aid workers or Bangladeshi authorities present, other than extra security forces.

Some programs are resuming as curfews ease, but the absence of aid workers has made the refugees more vulnerable. Without a doubt, the armed criminal gangs have only strengthened their “night government” power during this period.

Many refugees will likely either turn to people smugglers for a way out or join the armed groups as a way to guarantee security for their families.

Either outcome is dire for the Rohingya, Bangladesh and the region.

What can Australia and other donor countries do?

Australia has been a major donor to the Rohingya, via the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP)—Bangladesh. The government also recently reversed last year’s cuts to aid for the camps.

But Australia and other donor countries can do more. They can:

1) Urgently increase aid in real terms. The recent reversal of cuts is welcome, but significant new funding is urgently needed not only for food and basic services, but also to address crime, people smuggling and security more broadly.

2) Work with Bangladesh to stop people smuggling. It is in Australia’s national interest to stop people smuggling, not just turn back the boats. This will require additional funding to meet the needs of the Rohingya in the camps, guarantee their security and create pathways that provide hope for the future. It is cheaper than keeping asylum seekers in detention once they arrive in Australian waters.

3) Help Bangladesh target crime. Australia can provide more support and co-operation with the Bangladeshi government to target the gangs and crime in and around the camps. Again, this is a significant challenge, but Australia could offer technical and financial support, officer training and expertise, and additional personnel and funding.

4) Guarantee multi-year funding to aid and security programs. Funding to the camps has been disjointed. There have been long gaps between “phases” of aid. This has led to programs ceasing, aid workers finding new jobs and leaving, and discontinuity of support and programs for vulnerable refugees.

Anthony Ware receives funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Australian Humanitarian Program-Bangladesh, via Alinea International and Plan International Australia, for work on strengthening everyday peace between the Rohingya refugees and their host community.