To avoid death threats, kidnapping and extortion, Mohamed Ridoi, like other members of the Rohingya community, chose to embark on a dangerous sea escape rather than endure a life of misery in a camp in Bangladesh.
• Also read: Indonesia: Sea patrols to block arrival of Rohingyas
• Also read: Hundreds of Rohingya refugees left Bangladesh by sea
“We are not safe in Bangladesh. That’s why I decided to go to Indonesia to save my life and that of my family,” admits 27-year-old Mohamed, who landed in Aceh, western Indonesia, where more than 1,000 of his compatriots found refuge for two weeks.
A father of two, he says he wants “a peaceful life” as he waits with nearly 500 other refugees at an emergency shelter in Lhokseumawe.
These refugees, who have not arrived in Indonesia in significant numbers since 2015, say they have fled increasing brutality in camps in and around Cox’s Bazar, home to more than a million people and where gangs kidnap and torture residents for ransom .
“I was kidnapped by one of these groups. They asked me for 500,000 taka ($4,500) to buy weapons,” this man, who took his wife, two children and brother with him on his flight, told AFP. “They told me if I couldn’t give them the money they would kill me.”
Eventually he managed to pay 300,000 taka, was released, and then boarded a boat that arrived in Indonesia on November 21st.
Bangladesh is home to around a million Rohingyas, a largely Muslim community persecuted in Burma, the majority of whom are Buddhists.
They are housed in overcrowded camps where insecurity is rampant and their living conditions are deplorable.
Thousands of them risk their lives on dangerous and costly sea voyages every year. Since November 14th, more than a thousand boats have reached the Indonesian archipelago, while other boats are still at sea.
But Aceh villagers tried to push these boats back into the sea last week and police decided to “intensify” maritime patrols to prevent their arrival.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and says it has no obligation to accept these refugees, pointing the finger at neighboring countries that have closed their doors to them.
Sleepless nights
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), criminal groups and suspected members of armed Islamist groups are waging a reign of terror in Bangladesh’s dozens of refugee camps.
Bangladesh’s defense ministry has identified at least 11 armed groups operating in the camps. But NGOs say Dhaka is not doing enough to protect refugees from violence.
“They demanded money every night and threatened to kidnap my husband. I couldn’t sleep at night because of them,” said Aisha, 19, another refugee who arrived on the same boat as Mohamed Ridoi.
Under pressure from criminals, the family eventually paid 200,000 taka ($1,819) to middlemen for a boat trip to Indonesia.
According to Bangladesh police, about 60 Rohingya have been killed in violence in the camps this year.
“Die at Sea”
Despite the risks, Aisha asserts that she would have preferred “to die at sea rather than in camp.”
At the end of this exodus, she looks for “a safe place” for her children, “in the hope that they can study.”
According to Chris Lewa, director of the Rohingya rights organization Arakan Project, the reduction in food distribution has also worsened living conditions in the camps and forced entire families to flee.
“The profiles are different, there are now many small children and families who just want to escape Bangladesh,” she explains.
Aisha’s family sought refuge in a windowless room in the town of Lhokseumawe, where hundreds of women and children sleep in tropical humidity on mattresses without fans.
But it’s still much better than living in fear in her camp in Bangladesh, Aisha assures.