Teknaf, Bangladesh: Burmese Rohingya refugees officially registered at Nayapara and Kutupalong camps in Bangladesh refused to accept rations on August 6th because their original ration books were replaced with “ration cards” by the Bangladeshi authorities, according to a refugee from Nayapara camp named Hashim.
“The old ration books were provided to Rohingya refugees by the UNHCR and the Bangladesh government in 1991-92 when the refugees entered Bangladesh from Burma,” said Hashim.
He further noted that most Burmese refugees entered Bangladesh due to human rights abuses and the persecution of Rohingyas by the Burmese authorities.
According to refugees at the camps, last month the Bangladesh government and UNHCR investigated every refugee family and took fingerprints from two family members (typically the heads of each household) for purposes of establishing a new ration distribution system that uses “food cards” instead of the original ration books.
The World Food Program (WFP) started giving rations to the refugees under the new system after the ration books were seized by Bangladeshi authorities on August 6th, after which the refugees refused to accept rations, said a refugee leader from Kutupalong camp.
Many refugees said they would have “accepted rations if the ration books hadn’t been replaced with food cards.” However, the camp-in-charge of Nayapara camp, Jalal, has asked refugees and camp leaders to discuss the matter on August 7th, said a camp leader.
Yesterday, refugees bought rice from outside the camps instead of accepting rations with their new ration cards. As a result, the price of rice has been skyrocketing in the camp, where one kilogram of rice was sold at Taka 25 yesterday—three Taka higher than the day before.
A refugee leader from Nayapara camp who preferred not to be named said, “We are refugees and want to keep the original ration books as documentary evidence. Why are the Bangladeshi authorities refusing to give us the old ration books?
