Around 30,000 Rohingyas are employed at high salaries by various NGOs working at different refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar despite strict prohibitions by the government on such employment of any Rohingya.
As a result, a large number of Rohingyas people are not willing to return to their homeland in Myanmar because of their employment at high salaries alongside all types of living facilities at the refugee camps free of cost. Many of the local people in Cox’s Bazar said that different NGOs are employing the Rohingyas mysteriously depriving the local people.
Farhad Iqbal, general secretary of Cox’s Bazar People Forum, said, “All the Rohingya people get rations and are provided all types of living facilities free of cost. But additionally, they are being employed by different NGOs at high salaries ranging from Tk 15,000 to Tk 50,000.”
“Apart from ration and living facilities free of cost, employment to the Rohingya people is deviating them from the repatriation process,” said Farhad Iqbal.
He also alleged that mysteriously the NGOs are employing the Rohingyas depriving the local people. Mohammad Rabiul Hasan, Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer, said that they were looking into the allegations regarding the employment of the Rohingyas by the NGOs. The government had recently constituted a new framework for the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) active at different Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar so that no NGO could run activities other than humanitarian ones, as well as employ any Rohingya.
The new framework has also imposed restrictions on the recruitment of Rohingyas as officials or employees of any NGO, and in the distribution of cash money to Rohingyas. KM Abdus Salam, Director General of the NGO Affairs Bureau, said, “This framework has been constituted for the well management of NGO activities at the refugee camps.”
“This initiative has been taken so that none can run any other activities other than humanitarian ones,” said the NGO Affairs Bureau. Sources at the NGO Affairs Bureau said, the initiatives of the government also aimed at strengthening surveillance so that criminals and terrorists could not be organised in any way at the refugee camps and none could materialise any kind of ill-motive under the banner of any NGO there.
It is known that around 150 national and international NGOs are active at 11 Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar for relief and other purposes. According to sources, the NGO Affairs Bureau on the first week of this month held a meeting in this regard and prepared a 16-point directives for the NGOs active at different Rohingya camps.
As per the directive, Bangladeshi nationals must be given priority in the recruitment of any official or employee for any NGO. No Rohingyas will be allowed to be appointed as officials or employees for any NGO and no project could be taken for the distribution of cash money to the Rohingyas. Punitive measures will be taken if any NGO recruits any Rohingya or takes any project of distributing cash money to Rohingyas. Rohingyas, forcibly displaced from their homeland in Rakhine of Myanmar, are sheltered at different refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. But, a large number of Rohingyas are getting involved in various criminal activities while many NGOs also found involved in various illicit activities. The government so far imposed bans on the activities of a total of 41 NGOs at the Rohingya camps.