2017-10-19
Chris Johansen
By mid-August of 2017, some two-thirds of Bangladesh was under water, with the worst flooding in living memory in some parts of the country. But it should be realized that in normal monsoon seasons about half of the country does indeed submerge. People have adapted to this by raising buildings, roads, etc. just above usual flood levels and reliance on paddy rice cultivation. However, in this year many villages and towns were flooded due to the higher than usual water levels, resulting in a massive relief effort by the government and foreign aid agencies.
Near the end of August, when flood relief efforts had pushed the countrys aid capabilities to the limit, the mass influx of Rohingya refugees from the neighbouring Rakhine State in Myanmar began arriving in Chittagong Division. Some 600,000 destitute and traumatized people, many of them sick or injured, have crossed the border since about 25th August, and they are still coming at a rate of thousands per day. Initial Government instructions to police were to turn them back. However, when those police heard the horror stories about from whence the refugees were fleeing they ignored orders from above, and the Government quickly retracted that instruction.
The only option for the incoming refugees was to construct makeshift shelters in the semi-forest area normally used for slash and burn agriculture. However, tarpaulins could be rapidly provided, by the Government or external aid agencies, this being a top priority due to the continuing monsoon rains. The limited medical facilities in the vicinity were quickly overwhelmed and most injuries and sickness could not be treated. As mentioned, most of the relief capability in the country had already been exhausted by the unprecedented flood in the north of the country.
Rohingya refugee camp in slash and burn area, Chittagong, Bangladesh September 2017. Source: Reuters, Danish Siddiqui
In view of the lack of official relief resources, the overwhelming reaction of the people of Chittagong City, not far from where the refugees were entering, was to begin rounding up aid themselves. Donations of food, clothing, etc. are being collected from local businesses and the more wealthy and trucked to the refugee camps. How do I know this, as I didnt see this reported anywhere in the Australian or international media. Actually, Chittagong City is my wifes family home and she phones there almost daily. She also has Bangla satellite TV news channels on most of the day and I cannot but help overhear the local interpretation of the situation. Indeed, her family owns a small shop, which is usually leased out but is now vacant. It is being used as a clearing depot for this locally collected aid. But this reaction of the people of Chittagong is not too surprising to me considering the hospitality afforded to me during my regular visits to Chittagong over the last 35 years.
Most reports from Australian media about Bangladesh reaction to the massive refugee influx suggests hostility of the local population to the incoming Rohingya, rather than a humanitarian approach. It is true that the Rohingya do not have a good reputation in Chittagong Division as some refugees coming before the current crisis have resorted to crime. There is no social security net in Bangladesh, for anyone, and some of the more desperate have apparently resorted to theft, rather than allow themselves or family to starve (c.f. convicts transported to Australia for stealing a loaf of bread in London over 200 years ago). And, currently, Chittagong citizens realize that leaving a large number of destitute people without basic aid will inevitably result in security problems. And now the Government and Bangladeshi people are becoming increasingly worried about the consequences as it is becoming clear that these refugees will not be able to return to Rakhine State any time soon, and they have nowhere else to go. But I can assure that the humanitarian sentiment dominates over hostility, in that the Bangladeshi people could not stand by and let fellow human beings starve.
Now lets compare this situation with that closer to home 5-6 years ago when a few thousand (not hundreds of thousands) refugees similarly fleeing horrific circumstances, and many of them Rohingya, approached Australia in rickety boats. They were banished to concentration camps in the Pacific (Manus and Nauru) to face physical and mental torture for an indefinite period (over 4 years so far). The Australian Governments stated rationale for doing this was to 'break the business model of the people smugglers. Begs the question of what they would have done if they had caught Oskar Schindler, who smuggled Jews out of the reach of the Nazis during WW2. There are many alternative means of humanely dealing with fleeing refugees (e.g. Angela Merkel) and curtailing human trafficking for profit. Torturing desperate people fleeing persecution seems, to me at least, a strange way of dealing with human trafficking for profit. And Australia is now seeking a seat on the UN Commission on Human Rights – seriously?!?
Lets put this in context. Bangladesh is a country only about twice the size of Tasmania yet with a population seven times that of the whole of Australia (i.e. 170 million vs 24 million). And the Gross National Income per capita of Bangladesh is only 12% that of Australia (US$ 3,800 vs US$ 46,000). Yet Bangladesh with its limited resources, and being in the midst of its worst flooding ever, accepts hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees across its borders, whereas Australia turns away just a few thousand and proceeds to torture them. Extremely ashamed of my homeland but rather proud of my wifes homeland.
Rohingya refugee support rally, WA Parliament, 16/9/17. Chris Johansen
Despite the inhumane attitude of the Australian Government to desperate refugees there is a small band of Australians doggedly persisting with calls for humane treatment of refugees who approach our shores without the pre-certified paperwork, particularly those now stuck on Manus Island and Nauru. Organizations such as ACRT (Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce), CARAD (Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees), RRAN (Refugee Rights Action Network WA), Amnesty International and of course The Greens. For example, such groups organized a rally in support of Rohingya refugees at WA Parliament House on 16th September, with Alison Xamon being one of the speakers. Several hundred attended this event and it was noticeable that most were of South Asian origin. Some were Rohingya refugees who had earlier sought refuge here and were obviously concerned about relatives and friends caught up in the current crisis. And I would guess many were there spurred by recollections of their own traumatic experiences with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Participants in the Rohingya refugee support rally, WA Parliament, 16/9/17. Chris Johansen
Header photo: Rohingya refugee camp, Chittagong, Bangladesh, September 2017. Source: ABC News 19/9/17