Teknaf, Bangladesh: Twenty-seven Rohingya refugees, including children and women, were arrested by foresters of Zadi Mora Forest Camp of Teknaf Upazila yesterday. The refugees were carrying firewood out of the nearby forest, said a refugee from Nayapara Camp who declined to be named.

Early yesterday morning the refugees went to a nearby forest to collect firewood. They paid 10 taka per person to a local villager named Shoffi Alam who is responsible for the forest in the Mosoni (nearby refugee camp) area.

However, a group of officers from the forest department of Zadi Mora arrested the said 27 refugees while they were carrying firewood back to their homes in Nayapara Camp. The detainees were brought to Zadi Mora Forest Camp, said another refugee from the camp.

By 1:00 pm, all the refugees were released after paying 2,000 taka per adult, and 1,000 taka per child. The refugees had to sell their ornaments and pawn their ration books to others in order to come up with the money.

The refugees are compelled to collect firewood from nearby forests as the UNHCR has been unable to supply them with crushed rice husk (manmade firewood) for the past three months. As a result, refugees have been facing fuel shortages for cooking, said a female refugee from the camp.

“Refugees are neither allowed to go to the forest, nor to get fuel (firewood) from UNHCR. How can the refugees cook their food?”, asked a refugee leader from the camp.

“It is very difficult for the poor refugees as 2,000 taka is a huge amount of money for them,” said an elder refugee from the camp. “For refugees who don’t even have any firewood, how can they get money to bribe officials?”