The surge in human trafficking by sea from Cox's Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh has not gone unnoticed in Canberra: officials want to ensure a new regional boat crisis does not reach Australian waters.
As the number of departures rose in December, the Australian government announced a new $235 million round of humanitarian aid for displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Demonstrators burn tires at a protest rejecting Rohingya refugees in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on December 27.credit: AP
This funding has allowed the cash-strapped United Nations World Food Program to raise the monthly food ration in Cox's Bazar from $8 ($11.80) per person to $10 after reducing it from $12 last year.
“eight [US dollars] “It's very close to famine level, as I understand it, and that would mitigate the hunger a little bit,” says David Brewster, a senior research fellow at the Australian National University's School of National Security.
But the security situation in the camps is completely out of control. There are kidnappings and rapes…and the Bangladeshi authorities have no control over what happens inside the camps.”
Violence by rival armed criminal gangs has left the Rohingya in their most vulnerable state since more than 700,000 people crossed the border in 2017, according to a new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.
Ethnic Rohingya step off their boat as they land on the northern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, in November.credit: AP
The military-led crackdown that expelled them from their homes in western Myanmar's Rakhine state has been described by the United Nations as a “typical example of ethnic cleansing.”
Unable to return to Myanmar as fighting continues between rebel groups and the junta, the 1.1 million people crammed into Cox's Bazar face overcrowded conditions extremely vulnerable to fires, landslides and extreme weather.
Brewster welcomes additional Australian support on the ground but says it is in the Albanian government's interest to help build the capacity of Bangladeshi maritime authorities and incentivize them to prevent ships from departing, possibly to Australia.
Given the rejection in Indonesia, the inevitability of offshore processing and detention on Nauru, not to mention the risks of such a perilous journey, may not be an obstacle for the Rohingya, Brewster says.
A Rohingya refugee hanging from a pole tries to dismantle a solar panel and a lamp as fire burns at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district on Sunday.credit: AP
“It should be a major issue in Australian thinking. The prospect of almost indefinite detention is in [Pacific] The camps on the island were enough of a deterrent for many people, from Iraq or even Afghanistan. “But the Rohingya are in such a desperate state that life is almost a luxury, from their point of view.”
This scenario was also put forward by a UN official in Cox's Bazar, who witnessed the horrific reality facing the Rohingya there.
“The reality is they can't find places to go quickly,” says the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely.
“Sooner or later [Australia] It will become an option. “It's crystal clear.”
“I discussed this matter with two Rohingyas and pointed out what would happen if that happened [Australia] I intercepted them while they were at sea. They said: Okay, [Pacific] The islands are much better than the camps on Cox, and it is true.”
According to Saif Arakani, a Rohingya journalist in Cox's Bazar who charted the recent boat trips, two of the 14 ships that have left since November were organized by refugees living in Australia.
The desperation of the Rohingya, who have fled repression for years and are not recognized as citizens of Myanmar, has been a boon to people smugglers.
Smugglers took advantage of the recent rush to find refugees, charging fees amounting to about 120,000 Bangladeshi taka ($1,620) for the trip to Indonesia via the Andaman Sea.
Rohingya children sit around a fire at their camp near the beach in Pidi, Aceh province, Indonesia, in December.credit: AP
One of the boats carrying 180 people has not been heard since it set off in November. It is assumed that its occupants drowned.
“If nothing is done about stopping the boats [from Bangladesh] “We are talking about a boating crisis the likes of which we have not seen in at least a decade,” says the UN official.
A spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government is committed to combating people smuggling by sea and preventing deaths at sea, and works closely with neighboring countries to combat human trafficking. The aid pumped in December was based on $625 million provided since 2017.
“We are aware of reports of irregular marine vessels in the Andaman Sea, including as far as Aceh. The spokesperson says the Australian government is concerned that people smugglers are exploiting people, including women and children, and risking their lives at sea by selling… Such a dangerous journey.
“[The] Australian government policy is consistent. People who illegally travel to Australia by boat without a valid visa will not settle permanently here. Under Operation Sovereign Borders, maritime people smuggling projects targeting Australia will be detected, intercepted and returned to their country of origin or country of departure. Those who cannot be returned safely will be transferred to Nauru for regional processing.
In Indonesia, another boat carrying more than 140 Rohingya refugees was allowed to reach shore in North Sumatra province on December 31.
Maimane, the UNHCR representative, says there is no indication that any Rohingya in Indonesia will attempt to reach Australia.
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She says they tend to prefer going to Malaysia, where more than 100,000 Rohingya already live, and where many have traveled irregularly from Indonesia, including to reunite with family members.
In light of the resistance of the people of Aceh, she hopes that the situation will stabilize.
“There were a lot of Indonesians who were surprised, even shocked by what the Indonesian students did… and there was a backlash on social media,” Mayman says.
“We just hope that we have the conditions where we can actually participate and help the local communities.”
