Burma V. Bangladesh: How can the poorest support the unwanted?
A recent article on the BBC website has accused the Bangladesh government of "ignoring" Burmese refugees and denying them aide. Starvation has become a growing concern among the refugees and human rights groups fear for the well-being of these people who were forced out of their country only to arrive, unwanted, in another. International media attention has highlighted the issue while also painting the Bangladesh government as a cold, corrupt government.
The people who have fled Burma, the Rohingya, are among the most unwanted in their homeland, unable to marry or own land without permission, they have fled their own corrupt country in hopes of finding peace and perhaps a home in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh is the poorest Asian country and one of the poorest countries in the world.
Abdul Momen, the UN representative for Bangladesh, has denied the accusations of ill-treatment stating that the Bangladesh government must be certain aide is not coming from terrorist groups. He has also stated that despite the economic status of Bangladesh, the country has allowed the Rohingya to take refuge.
The Rohingya had minimum options for exile, however, Bangladesh should have been last on their list. The country has a long history of destitution and tribulations. In recent attempts to climb the development ladder, Grameen Bank has instituted a micro-finance program focused on the empowerment of women which has had increasingly positive effects for villages throughout Bangladesh. Micro-finance programs have become a popular jumping off point for many lesser developed countries trying to boost their economic status in the game of global politics.
However, hosting a surplus of hungry people places an enormous strain on a government that has been trying to support its own people under its own dire circumstances. Granted, the Rohingya had little geographical choice for their exile locale with Indonesia facing terrorist threats and many other South East Asian states offering little stability. However, it cannot be expected for the poorest country in Asia to support thousands more without some paranoia and scarce resources.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8556916.stm (Check it out)
The people who have fled Burma, the Rohingya, are among the most unwanted in their homeland, unable to marry or own land without permission, they have fled their own corrupt country in hopes of finding peace and perhaps a home in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh is the poorest Asian country and one of the poorest countries in the world.
Abdul Momen, the UN representative for Bangladesh, has denied the accusations of ill-treatment stating that the Bangladesh government must be certain aide is not coming from terrorist groups. He has also stated that despite the economic status of Bangladesh, the country has allowed the Rohingya to take refuge.
The Rohingya had minimum options for exile, however, Bangladesh should have been last on their list. The country has a long history of destitution and tribulations. In recent attempts to climb the development ladder, Grameen Bank has instituted a micro-finance program focused on the empowerment of women which has had increasingly positive effects for villages throughout Bangladesh. Micro-finance programs have become a popular jumping off point for many lesser developed countries trying to boost their economic status in the game of global politics.
However, hosting a surplus of hungry people places an enormous strain on a government that has been trying to support its own people under its own dire circumstances. Granted, the Rohingya had little geographical choice for their exile locale with Indonesia facing terrorist threats and many other South East Asian states offering little stability. However, it cannot be expected for the poorest country in Asia to support thousands more without some paranoia and scarce resources.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8556916.stm (Check it out)
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