More refugee arrests in Teknaf

Teknaf, Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) arrested eight refugees from the Leda (Tal) refugee camp yesterday while they were working as rickshaw drivers in Teknaf, said a refugee from the camp who requested not to be named.

The arrested refugees were handed over to Teknaf police for questioning and are expected to be sent to Cox’s Bazar jail.

The recent arrests follow additional reports of more than 50 Rohingya refugees detained earlier this week by Bangladeshi authorities for seeking work outside the camp.

Camp residents say that BDR officials and local police have been patrolling the area around the Leda camp.

“I think this is part of a specific plan by authorities. Something is behind it,” said one refugee leader.

Shamjida, 30, the wife of one detained refugee and a mother of three, said the arrest of her husband has left her family in dire straits.

“My husband was arrested by the BDR on October 26 while he was going to Teknaf to look for work. Now I have no wood to make a fire to cook with and no food. My children are starving and I don’t know when my husband will be released,” she said.

Many residents of the refugee camps say they are facing a chronic shortage of food as rations coming from outside have dropped off and residents are prohibited from leaving the camp to look for food.

More than 12,000 refugees live in the Leda camp with little support from outside, and they survive on whatever work they can find in local villages, said a female refugee camp resident.

Source:http://www.kaladanpress.org/v3/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2863:more-refugee-arrests-in-teknaf&catid=127:october-2010&Itemid=2