Photo credit: the Conversation
As mass protests have paralyzed Bangladesh in recent weeks, the military was deployed to the streets with a command to shoot at sight.
The Conversation reports that there have been 266 people dead, and 7,000 people were injured. Over 10,000 people have been arrested. Meanwhile, a near-total communications blackout has cut all internet and mobile phone services for over a week. A nationwide curfew has been declared for up to 22 hours daily.
Although the restrictions have eased, Rohingya refugees in the country have become desperate. Nearly a million of them have been living in dire conditions in camps since fleeing the ethnic cleansing across the border in Myanmar.
Although they were initially welcome in Bangladesh, their influx has put an enormous strain on the country’s social and political systems. The government has become frustrated, and locals have not hidden their resentment.
Since there is no international resolution to the refugee crisis in sight, the authorities have increasingly been placing restrictions on the Rohingya to curtail their movement and prevent them from trying to earn a living in Bangladesh.
Without legal options for paid employment or running a business, the Rohingya have turned to crime and violence. They engage in drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortion, people smuggling and murderous activities.
