More difficult for Rohingya Refugee female to travel in Bangladesh

Teknaf, Bangladesh: The female Rohingya communities from northern Arakan who travel for medical treatment, are facing more difficult in Bangladesh than Burma, said a female patient from Maungdaw.

“We are checking whole body including female private area by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) female staff while entering to Bangladesh entry point (Teknaf Land port) and Dum Dum Meah check post, for searching drug (Yaba) which come from Burma to Bangladesh).” 

“The Burmese authority didn’t search like this, but the authority searches the female passengers, not private area. If the authority got information, they search everywhere they suspect.”

“Are all the Rohingya communities are drug smugglers, so the authority is going to check all the people who enter the entry point?”

The custom and Immigration officers are also collecting money from Rohingya community who enter into Bangladesh, it is fee or extortion, said a trader who always visit Bangladesh for his business.

“The officers are collecting 200 taka from a passenger while reporting and to get entry permit on their passport.”

While we are going back to our home land, the BGB female personnel again check as same as entry time. Why it is also for drug checking?, said the female patient from Maungdaw.

“BGB female personnel took secretly Taka 10,000 from a female Rohingya from Maungdaw while they were checking when the female didn’t find her money; the passengers asked the BGB personnel to return the money. Then the BGB personnel return the money. It is happen on December 2 at the evening,” said a female passenger from Maungdaw.

“The checking was only for harassment of the Rohingya community who had come to Bangladesh for medical treatment where they are not getting any medical facility in their home land and are not able to travel to Akyab for restriction of movement where they can get the medical facility. It is the life of Rohingya in northern Arakan – no education, no medical, no job, can’t able to marriage freely, no religious freedom, no permit to travel one place to another, force looting their foods grain and etc.”

Credit : Kaladan Press