Shafiur Rahman

6 days ago | rohingyarefugee.news | Shafiur Rahman

A small launch ferrying sick Rohingya to the mainland capsized. At least eight people are feared dead. Bhasan Char’s remote location, flimsy boats and chronic shortage of medical evacuation options turned an ordinary medical transfer into a fatal gamble. It is stupid to call this an accident - it’s the inevitable outcome of an experiment that warehouses thousands of refugees on a silt island with razor-thin services and virtually no freedom of movement.

6 days ago | counterpointbd.com | Shafiur Rahman

Bhasan Char is a symbol of the corruption and cronyism of the last regime, a so-called humanitarian scheme that served only to line the pockets of the powerful. The Interim Government can do the right thing by making a clean break from Sheikh Hasina's most disastrous Rohingya policy. On May 31, a trawler carrying 39 people from Bhasan Char capsised en route to the mainland. As of writing, three have been confirmed dead, several are receiving medical treatment, and others remain missing.

1 week ago | rohingyarefugee.news | Shafiur Rahman

In a UN podcast published last year, Juliette Murekeyisoni, the new interim head of UNHCR-Bangladesh, shares her experience of fleeing Burundi on the back of a lorry and discusses her commitment to displaced people. In response to a question about what she might say to those responsible for refugee suffering, she suggests she would ask something along the lines of: If those were your own children, would you leave them in a camp with no food?

2 weeks ago | counterpointbd.com | Shafiur Rahman

While much of the trafficking narrative involving Rohingya women focuses on destinations like Malaysia, Asma's story is a reminder that trafficking can take many forms and lead to various destinations The plight of Rohingya refugees has been marked by displacement, violence, and profound suffering. Among their many challenges, human trafficking has become a devastating consequence of their vulnerability.

2 weeks ago | counterpointbd.com | Shafiur Rahman

It is merely another performance in a long-running tragedy of control, optics, and missed opportunities for real change On March 17, Bangladeshi security forces arrested Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). For some, the news came as a long-overdue blow to an armed group accused of killings, extortion, and turning parts of the refugee camps into no-go zones.