❐ BD Digest Desk
At least 1,000 Bangladeshis from Ukhia and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar registered themselves as Rohingya in the biometric database—they chose this path in the hope of finding relief and registered their names with the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.
The issue has come up for discussion again since last July, after the recent merger of the National Identity Card (NID) and the Rohingya database.
These people, who have taken advantage of their Rohingya identity, are facing administrative complications when accessing various government services—such as passports, voter registration, or traveling abroad.
One such person is Mostaq Mia, a daily wage worker from Kutupalong Lambashia refugee camp in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, whose family consists of five members. In 2017, during the influx of Rohingyas from Myanmar, he sheltered three Rohingya families in his yard. At that time, Mostaq also registered himself as a Rohingya through biometric registration, and since then, he and his family have been receiving rations regularly for nine consecutive years.
But that ration decision has now become tomorrow for Mostaq Mia.
In late July this year, his eldest son, Mizanur Rahman, ran into complications while applying for a passport. When fingerprinting was done, it was found that Mizan’s information was being identified in the Rohingya registration database—even though he was registered as a Bangladeshi citizen on his national identity card.
Due to this discrepancy between the two databases, the Cox’s Bazar Regional Passport Office sent his application back without accepting it.
In this regard, Mizanur Rahman said, “I was 14 years old when the Rohingyas arrived. I stood in line at the camp with other family members and had my biometrics done. I also received my NID two years ago. I went to get a passport based on that. But when I went to give my fingerprints, they turned me away.”
Mizanur is not alone—at least 1,000 Bangladeshis living in areas adjacent to various Rohingya refugee camps in Ukhia and Teknaf are facing the same problem. Many do not want to speak out for fear of public shame, but they are now running to public representatives and administration offices to have their names removed from the UNHCR database.
Talking to local residents and public representatives, it was learned that the issue of Bengalis going to the Rohingya forest was known to everyone in the area for the past 9 years. However, these incidents started coming to light one by one after the biometric database of Rohingyas was linked to the NID database last July.
Many Bangladeshi citizens are facing difficulties in accessing various government services such as passports, voter registration, or traveling abroad due to this tangle of duplicate information.
When contacted, UNHCR acknowledged that a limited number of Bangladeshis were mistakenly registered. According to the agency, the process of identifying non-Rohingyas is currently underway and those whose citizenship is being confirmed by the Bangladesh government through a joint process are being excluded from the Rohingya registration.
The way the Rohingya dressed up
Locals say that after the influx of Rohingya from Myanmar, many Bangladeshis, eager to receive relief aid, concealed their true identities and registered as Rohingya in the UNHCR’s biometric database.
They were assisted in this task by the camp boatman (local leader of the Rohingya) and some officers and supervisors in charge of biometrics—in exchange, they were charged one to one and a half thousand taka per person.
A boatman from the sub-block of Kutupalong Camp 1, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Bangladeshis in that area would first seek advice from boatmen before registering in the Rohingya database, and would also learn the names and addresses of various villages in Myanmar, and even the name and language of the Burmese currency.
Another fisherman, who asked not to be named, said, “A fee of 500 to 1,000 taka was taken as cooperation in this work. And the supervisors and assistants at the biometric center of the camp help Bangladeshi citizens dress up as Rohingyas in exchange for bribes.”
Shahid Ullah, a resident of Kutupalong Lambashia area, said in this regard, “Most of the families who were registered are poor. They lost their land or gardens because of the Rohingya. They lost their livelihood and registered their names in the database to get assistance. They did not realize at the time that this decision taken for relief would cause great danger in the future.”
Application for cancellation of name
On July 29 and 30 and August 1, it was learned from conversations with Bangladeshi families, camp boatmen, and several administrative officials in the Kutupalong, Balukhali, and Thaingkhali areas of Ukhia that the largest number of Bangladeshi citizens were registered as Rohingya in these areas.
In addition, many examples of Bangladeshis moving to the Rohingya forest have also been found in the Hnila, Hoi Kyung, Nayapara areas of Teknaf and Shilkhali areas of Baharchhara.
According to several residents of the Kutupalong Lambashia area, about 70 percent of the 450 to 500 Bangladeshi families in the camp have included their names in the Rohingya database.
Several fishermen from Kutupalong Lambashia camp, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that four members of the family of Bengali Jasim Uddin, five members of the family of Joynal Uddin, five members of the family of Mohammad Rafiq, and five members of the family of Farid Alam, all living inside the barbed wire, have registered as Rohingya and received ration cards.
When asked about this, Farid Alam denied having a ration card and said that they had not received any assistance after the Rohingya influx. In his words, ‘The people around us are hostile towards us.’
Mostaq Ahmed (42) said, “I got my son’s passport about three months ago. However, I had to show many documents, including the land registry.”
When asked if he had any complications, he said, “I’m fine.”
Although Farid Alam and Mostaq Ahmed denied it, camp head fisherman Abdur Rashid confirmed that the families in question were receiving relief aid, just like the Rohingya. “They receive rations at the beginning of every month. I have the full list,” he said.
Helal Uddin, a member of Ward No. 9 of Rajapalong Union, said, “Many people have registered their names for biometric registration of Rohingyas in the hope of relief. Now, after the national identity card and Rohingya database were merged, they are facing problems while availing various government services including passports. 20 to 30 families in my ward have such problems. I have recommended in the application to exclude the names of many.”
Palangkhali Union Parishad Chairman M Gafur Uddin Chowdhury said that 50 to 60 applications from his union have been sent to the district administration and RRRC office, especially those who were stuck while applying for passports, and it has been recommended to withdraw their names from the UNHCR database.
He further said, “The lure of relief was a wrong decision. Now it has become a big obstacle for their future. Not only passports, but also other civic services including voter registration in the future may become complicated. There are many young people who were children in 2017. Now, after becoming adults, they are finding out when they go to apply for a passport that they are registered as Rohingya.”
More are being caught as databases are being merged
According to the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), until now the UNHCR had control over the Rohingya biometric database, with the RRRC only having read-only access to that information.
Later, the government took the initiative to connect the Rohingya database with the National Identity Card (NID) server using Application Programming Interface (API) technology.
For this purpose, the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) created a new server to store the data of about 1.2 million Rohingyas, which was handed over to the Ministry of Home Affairs in early July this year. Since then, UNHCR has gradually started transferring the biometric data of Rohingyas to the Bangladeshi server.
The RRRC said that in this new system, the fingerprint information of Rohingyas is being verified against the main database of national identity cards. As a result, just as a Rohingya is being caught trying to make an NID or passport as a Bangladeshi, information about people registered as Rohingyas despite being Bangladeshi citizens is also being revealed.
Mohammad Shahid Ullah, assistant director of the Cox’s Bazar Regional Passport Office, said, “The databases of Rohingya and Bangladeshis were merged long ago. Bangladeshis who have national identity cards but want to apply for a passport will first have to delete their names and information from the Rohingya database. Otherwise, they will not be able to apply for a passport. We have already sent many back.”
Applications are being submitted one after another.
Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md. Abdul Mannan said, “The rule is to issue passports to Bangladeshi citizens based on the information in their national identity cards. But if someone has registered themselves as Rohingya in the hope of getting relief, that is illegal. We have received about 1,000 such applications. Necessary action will be taken after verifying the identity and citizenship of the applicants.”
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said, “We are receiving more information about Bangladeshis who are getting stuck while applying for passports. After first applying to the district administration, the government brought the issues to the fore. We can make recommendations, but exclusion is a deep and complex crisis.”
When asked how many applications had been submitted in total, he said, “It is not possible to say for sure.”
UNHCR claims: Registration by mistake
Shari Nijman, the Bangladesh liaison officer for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said, “In 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingyas took refuge in Bangladesh in a short period of time. In that emergency situation, the Ministry of Home Affairs, led by the Bangladesh government, completed the initial biometric registration of the newly arrived Rohingyas.”
The information was transferred to UNHCR under a Memorandum of Understanding on Information Sharing in January 2018, followed by a joint verification exercise between the government and UNHCR from June 2018 to December 2019.
Shari Nijman added, “The Rohingya are a stateless people. Their citizenship and other documents have been gradually stripped away over decades. During the violence in 2017, many fled to Bangladesh to save their lives without any identity documents.”
In such emergency situations, a registration procedure is followed in accordance with international humanitarian standards, ensuring that no one in need of international protection is left out of the register or at risk of forced return.
He added, “To this end, the Bangladesh government and UNHCR have taken various screening measures, including joint verification interviews, to ensure that no one who is not a refugee is registered. However, despite these measures, a limited number of non-refugees have been registered in error. The government and UNHCR have a defined process to review and correct such incidents if they are identified.”
Noting that some Bangladeshi citizens have already applied to have their names removed from the Rohingya registration, he concluded by saying, “UNHCR is taking the matter very seriously and is working closely with the government on this matter. The government and UNHCR have jointly launched a process through which the applications are reviewed. Those who are confirmed by the Bangladeshi authorities as citizens of Bangladesh are being removed from the refugee registration. This process is ongoing. It is being conducted in coordination with the RRRC office in Cox’s Bazar and the relevant authorities in Dhaka.”
Security analysts have warned that it is important to properly verify the names and addresses of those who have applied to have their names removed from the Rohingya database, if necessary, through intelligence agencies. It is also necessary to investigate whether any genuine Rohingya Bangladeshi is trying to become Bangladeshi by identifying himself as a ‘Bangladeshi whose name was accidentally removed’ for the purpose of making an NID or passport.
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