Rohingyas sneaking in from India now

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The illegal entry of Rohingyas into Bangladesh from India over the past three weeks has triggered a fresh concern as the new inflow will create an additional burden for the country already hosting one million of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.

Police and intelligence officials said many of the Rohingyas, who lived in different places in India, sneaked into Bangladesh with the help of brokers and some were detained by law enforcers. They were later sent to the transitional camps in Cox’s Bazar.

There is no official record of the numbers of Rohingyas entering so far, but officials said some 500 of them may have entered Bangladesh from India over the last one month.

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“We are heavily burdened with the Rohingyas and any sort of illegal entry is a matter of serious concern. It should be stopped immediately,” said a top government official engaged in the Rohingya repatriation process in Cox’s Bazar, where over one million Rohingyas live in several refugee camps.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Moment voiced similar concerns.

“Unfortunately, many Rohingyas are coming to Bangladesh from India,” he told reporters, adding that he would take up the matter with his Indian counterpart.

Bangladesh has been facing episodic influxes of Rohingyas fleeing violence in Myanmar for decades, with the largest exodus from Rakhine State taking place in August 2017. They joined the 300,000 of their compatriots already there from previous waves of displacement, causing significant economic and strategic challenges for Bangladesh.