Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 25 SepteMber 2017

Bangladesh coastal town a place of Rohingya hope and tragedy

By MUNEEZA NAQVI for twice as much in
Associated Press the markets of nearby
SHAH PORIR DWIP, Ban- Teknaf.
gladesh (AP) — On a recent day, only
From a distance you can one tiny boat was able
see elegantly carved to make its way to Shah
wooden boats bob gen- Porir Dwip.
tly in the waters that sur- It dropped off three
round this coastal town emaciated and exhaust-
at Bangladesh’s south- ed men some ways from
ern tip. Across a sliver of the shore. They walked
the shimmering waters over kilometers (miles) of
of the Bay of Bengal is sand at low tide, under
Myanmar. the scorching sun.
These boats and this Their bodies were bent
place can mean both under the weight of their
hope and tragedy for belongings and their
the Rohingya Muslims lips were cracked and
who are desperate to parched from thirst.
escape the violence They said many others
that has engulfed their were waiting to cross
lives in Myanmar’s Rakh- but were being stopped
ine state. In this Sept. 21, 2017 photo, a Rohingya woman carries a child after crossing a stream on a small by soldiers.
High tide or low, day or boat near Cox’s Bazar’s Dakhinpara area, Bangladesh. “Myanmar army is shoot-
night, rough waters or Associated Press ing at them. They are not
calm, when they can letting them go,” Mo-
find a boat, the Rohing- graves. smaller waves since the all of them in one place. hammad Amir said as
ya take their chance “Here there are nine 1980s when Myanmar In Shah Porir Dwip, loud- sweat poured down his
to flee to Bangladesh. women buried,” he add- stripped them of their speakers announce that face.Abdul Haq watch-
More than 430,000 have ed, pointing to another citizenship rights. no one should shelter es such desperation play
left Myanmar in less than large mound. But never has the influx refugees in their homes. out daily. Since fleeing
a month. A solitary pile of earth, been as massive as the There is no room for them Myanmar in 2012 he’s
Not everyone makes it. away from the other one that started Aug. in this crowded and dirt- lived in a row of shanties
Mounds of earth in the graves, holds an infant 25 when a Rohingya in- poor town. near a jetty in Shah Porir
cemeteries of this little whose body washed surgent group staged They need to go to refu- Dwip that’s home to Ro-
town are the only re- ashore days after the deadly attacks on doz- gee camps further up hingya who came here
minders of Rohingya boat carrying him cap- ens of police posts in the coast in Cox’s Bazar, during earlier waves of
who drowned as their sized. Myanmar. but first they must find violence.
boats capsized, often “They get off the boat. The reprisal has been the money to pay for the They do menial jobs
just a few heartbreaking The water looks shal- swift and brutal. Myan- nearly 60-kilometer (37- here — day labor or pull-
meters away from the low. They don’t know mar officials describe is mile) journey. ing cycle rickshaws.
safety of the shore. how deep it is and they as a clearance opera- The Rohingya who can On a clear day he can
“Ten children are bur- drown,” Islam said. “It’s tion aimed at militants. afford it try to bring a look across the water
ied in that grave,” said very painful ... such small The U.N. calls it ethnic cow or a few goats with and see the coast of
Nur Islam, the imam children.” cleansing. them. There’s a thriving Myanmar. But he also
of the town’s main The persecution that the Bangladesh, an impov- market in buying live- sees the smoke from
mosque, pointing to a Rohingya Muslims face in erished nation too small stock at throw away burning villages. He
large mound covered in Myanmar is not new and for even its own popula- prices from these des- knows the dangers that
thorny branches to keep neither is their presence tion, is struggling with the perate people. lurk there.
dogs and other animals here. sheer number of refu- A cow bought from a “My soul cries for my
from disrespecting the They’ve been coming in gees and is trying to put newcomer can be sold home,” he said.q