Bangladesh – a helping hand that is in pain

DHAKA: They had seen the images of Rohingya Muslim refugees arriving hungry and exhausted after travelling days without food to reach Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh.

They had heard the stories of gunshot wounds and midnight escapes from angry mobs and soldiers.

So when the rickshaw pullers, tea stall vendors and other villagers in northern Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district were asked to give, they did, raising US$10,000 (RM42,000) to donate to hospitals and refugee camps helping those who fled in what is now Asia’s largest refugee crisis in decades.

“They came forward with whatever they had, whatever they could give us,” said Mohammad Abdullah-al-Kafi, who helped collect the donations and then travelled to a refugee camp to hand them out.

“I could not hold my tears when we got there and saw their suffering. We cried, and they cried as we distributed money.”

The sheer need of the Rohingya Muslims has inspired similar grassroots campaigns across Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation where there is great sympathy for the Rohingya, who are fleeing what the United Nations has described as “textbook ethnic cleansing”.

Some in this already impoverished and overpopulated nation, however, have begun to worry that the staggering influx of people could sap Bangladesh’s resources and push the economy to the brink.

“We are glad to shelter them for the sake of humanity,” said Mohammed Zakaria.

“But when I think deeply, I feel uncertain. Is it good for my country? Is it okay? I don’t know.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that if her country could feed its 160 million citizens, it could find food for less than a million more.

“If necessary, Bangladeshis will eat one full meal a day and share the rest with Rohingya,” she said.

Still, the humanitarian effort has come at a steep financial cost for Bangladesh.

The country had already been sheltering hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who had fled earlier rounds of violence in Myanmar and the new arrivals quickly pushed existing refugee camps along the border beyond capacity.

The worry is making its way to the streets of Bangladesh. While some are nervous about security and concerns that some Rohingya could be involved in terrorism, the greater fear is economic. There is anxiety that if the Rohingya stay they could, take jobs from Bangladeshis.

“If a Bangladeshi charged 10 takas (RM0.50) for some work, they will do that work for five takas and we will be in more trouble,” said businessman Wasim Iftekhar.

Businessman, Robiul Islam Palash, shared similar concern.

“From the economic perspective, the Rohingya Muslims will not be able to join any workforce officially,” he said.

“We will not be able to ensure their food, clothing, housing and medical facilities. What we can do is help them temporarily, but I don’t think this is a permanent solution.”

Paramedic Mohammed Ali Siddiki was blunt in his assessment, saying ultimately the Rohingya would have to return to Myanmar.

“Otherwise, chaos could break out,” he said.