How arson became a gang weapon at Rohingya camps

Bangladesh, Documents, Education, Help Refugees, Human Rights, Myanmar, Refugees Issues, Religious Rights

One week after a fire broke out in a Cox’s Bazar refugee camp earlier this month, Bangladesh government investigators ruled it a “planned act of sabotage” — just the latest among scores of such arson incidents in recent years.

The sprawling Kutupalong-Balukhali refugee camps house more than 630,000 Rohingya refugees in crowded, tightly packed, and highly flammable homes. That means some fires may be inevitable, but the worsened security situation over the past two years has turned arson into a weapon that warring gangs wield to seize territory and attack their opponents — with scant concern for those caught in the midst of the violence.

ALSO READ THIS: BANGLADESH: HALT ‘PILOT’ PLAN TO RETURN ROHINGYA

For Shahab*, the recent fire has made this year’s Ramadan a devastating one. A devout Muslim who has memorised the entire Qur’an, he spent days renovating his four-room bamboo home in preparation for the holiday, only to see it burn to the ground on the afternoon of 5 March.

As he ran home from his madrasa, Shahab recounted seeing fire in four distinct locations.

“The fact that the fire was started in various locations contributed to how quickly the flame spread,” Shahab told The New Humanitarian. “A few people attempted to put out the fire, but miscreants prevented them by threatening them. If not, many people may have protected their possessions and put out the fire as soon as possible.”