Duty of ASEAN countries to care and share

According to media reports, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have by now taken the harshest measures against the boat people now floating in their coastal waters. They have stationed warships and are engaging in aerial surveillance of these boats occupied by what would seem the dregs of humanity in their utmost wretched conditions.
Even fishermen of these countries have been warned by their authorities not to show any sympathy towards the boat people let alone bring them ashore.
What the boat people have been facing for the last two weeks have been too poignantly flashed in the media. From drinking their own urine to quench their thirst to resorting to killing as they scrambled for whatever scanty foods remained available on board, the accounts are took shocking specially in the backdrop of entire nations so near and capable to extend to them the least humanitarian help. That this was not given comes like a shame to humanity.
Bangladesh over the years in its highly overpopulated conditions has been feeding, sheltering and taking care of not thousands but hundreds of thousands of expelled Myanmar’s Rohingyas within its borders. Only recently, facing a situation of unsustainable influx of Rohingyas from Myanmar, Bangladesh also adopted and exercised a policy of discouraging them from entering. But our discouragement has been nothing like what things are now being done by these ASEAN countries. Even the latest arrivals of Rhongiyas in Bangladesh are still provided the minimum of care in border camps though the stress now is on persuading them to ultimately go back to Myanmar. But certainly Bangladesh is not sending warships to scare them or push them back.
What is the total number of boat people in the Andaman Sea or nearby ? Probably not even four thousands. A very small number compared to the hospitality discharging abilities of the three ASEAN members whose positions are as semi-developed nations in this part of the world. Understandably, showing a generous attitude to these floating people could  encourage a steady stream of their such arrivals in the future. This factor has played a part in their showing such lack of sympathy.
But one may ask what great encouragement these most helpless people would get if they are allowed to come to shore to receive the minimum of care to save their lives. Then, they could be deported to their countries of origin subsequently. If conditions of some proved that they were no better than stateless people, they could be allowed temporary residence. At the same time clear warnings could be issued like ‘this far and no further’ or that henceforth the authorities will be even stricter in giving them the minimum help.  Surely, such a milder response can well safeguard the interests of these countries while also would likely prove effective in discouraging potential trespassers.
The ASEAN countries may contend that they have not signed UN conventions that obligate them to discharge certain services for refugees or persons in distress. But apart from institutional law, international law and domestic law jurists everywhere recognize that there is a highe source from which all laws sprang called ‘natural law.’
This law is based on humankind’s expected behaviour everywhere of showing minimum humanity towards the truly distressed ones regardless of their own contribution to their misery. Such law is based on the conscience of humans to show compassion to all fellow humans in utter misery regardless of their nationalities, race or religion. Thus, it has been a great disappointment to see our ASEAN neighbours almost completely ignoring this aspect of their expected adherence to even these time honoured canons of natural law.
Human trafficking is not unique to our part of the world. There are far worse cases of such trafficking to be noted across the Mediterranean as thousands of people from Middle Eastern countries have been trying desperately to cross into Europe in a manner not very different from the boat people who are being spotted off the coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia now.
But the typical response of the European countries continue to be comparatively far more hospitable towards these refugees. They are not sending warships to frighten away the refuges or absolutely ensuring that they cannot land. Upon arriving in their coasts, the refugees are seen to be getting the minimum of care though physically they are kept interned. The stand of the
European countries contrasts sharply with our ASEAN countries who are behaving that they care nothing whether the trafficked people live or die and that their only duty is to push them back no matter how inhuman the costs of such actions. The office of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) has been shouting at the top of its voice that ASEAN nations need to show more empathy towards the boat people matching international standards. But so far, their pleadings have been in vain.
Nonetheless, there is a flicker of hope that the Thai government has called a meeting of 15 countries on 29th of the current month supposedly to deal with the issue of the boat people. The United States is one of the countries that was invited and also Bangladesh. Notably, the US has been insisting all along like Bangladesh that the boat people in south east Asia should be shown at least minimum humanitarian considerations.
Let us hope that our foreign office will get its act together well before this vital meeting takes place. We must be able to utilize this meeting to rally support for our stand that the boat people must not be treated just like expendable animals. We should be able to impress upon the representatives of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia that they should, on ad hoc basis, deal with the several thousands of boat people now floating in the sea in absolute peril, leniently till addressing the issue comprehensively by all the states involved in the medium and longer terms.
More importantly, Bangladesh needs to go all out to mobilize a stand among the participants in this meeting that for addressing the issue effectively it is indispensable to get Myanmar’s cooperation. In other words, Myanmar must be subjected to due pressure in this meeting to agree to end its on going policies of barbaric persecution of the Rohingyas that is at the core of the problem. Muslim Rohingyas flee Myanmar where they and their ancestors have lived for over a millennia from Nazi style pogroms conducted against them by the Bhuddist majority backed up by the Myanmarese military and para-military forces. Once such persecution is stopped, the Rohingya exodus affecting the neighbouring countries can come down to a trickle in a matter of weeks or even sooner.
So, the keys to normalizing the situation lies greatly in persuading and compelling the Myanmar government to adopt international standards by completely stopping the barbarities against the Rohingyas and granting them full citizenship along with unfettered enjoyment of their basic rights. Bangladesh needs to play a catalytic diplomatic role in this regard among the neighbouring countries, USA, EU and all others who think likewise to act in concert and mount pressure on Myanmar to give the Rohingyas their due.
As for Bangladeshis being found among the trafficked boat people, this is a transient phenomenon and would be likely fully controlled sooner than later as the consciousness of the victims is rising fast about a hopeless and dreadful future only they can expect from responding to the allurements of traffickers. Furthermore, government in Bangladesh has been sensitized by the problem and probably it is only a matter of time before the presence of Bangladeshis among boat people dwindle down.
As it is, our government must have realized by now that Bangladesh’s  image as an upcoming economic power house, as a good destination of foreign investment and as a middle income country to be, all of these positive accomplishments would be at stake from allowing some human traffickers to create a reverse image most undeservedly of this country as one where its own citizens take great risks to leave it in desperation.
The tasks now wait for our law enforcers to clearly identify the networks of traffickers within Bangladesh and their sponsors abroad. This identification must be followed up with efforts to smash the networks to bits notwithstanding that some interest groups are there who could try to subvert the process. Reportedly, some politicians and members of law enforcement agencies are also involved. Therefore enough resolve must be shown from the highest level of the government to crush such interest groups for good and maintain the momentum in this direction.
Bangladesh has a tough law against human trafficking that was adopted in 2012. But this law has been hardly enforced. It should now be applied with real vigour against the offenders to bring to nil in no time the cases of human trafficking for which Bangladesh is now blamed. From the highest level of the government, the law enforcers should be ordered to unsparingly apply this law wasting no time at all to bring to a complete halt attempts at human trafficking.

The writer is Associate Editor of theindependent. E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]

 

 

Duty of ASEAN countries to care and share

According to media reports, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have by now taken the harshest measures against the boat people now floating in their coastal waters. They have stationed warships and are engaging in aerial surveillance of these boats occupied by what would seem the dregs of humanity in their utmost wretched conditions. Even fishermen of these countries have been warned by their authorities not to show any sympathy towards the boat people let alone bring them ashore. What the boat people have been facing for the last two weeks have been too poignantly flashed in the media. From drinking their own urine to quench their thirst to resorting to killing as they scrambled for whatever scanty foods remained available on board, the accounts are took shocking specially in the backdrop of entire nations so near and capable to extend to them the least humanitarian help. That this was not given comes like a shame to humanity. Bangladesh over the years in its highly overpopulated conditions has been feeding, sheltering and taking care of not thousands but hundreds of thousands of expelled Myanmars Rohingyas within its borders. Only recently, facing a situation of unsustainable influx of Rohingyas from Myanmar, Bangladesh also adopted and exercised a policy of discouraging them from entering. But our discouragement has been nothing like what things are now being done by these ASEAN countries. Even the latest arrivals of Rhongiyas in Bangladesh are still provided the minimum of care in border camps though the stress now is on persuading them to ultimately go back to Myanmar. But certainly Bangladesh is not sending warships to scare them or push them back. What is the total number of boat people in the Andaman Sea or nearby ? Probably not even four thousands. A very small number compared to the hospitality discharging abilities of the three ASEAN members whose positions are as semi-developed nations in this part of the world. Understandably, showing a generous attitude to these floating people could encourage a steady stream of their such arrivals in the future. This factor has played a part in their showing such lack of sympathy. But one may ask what great encouragement these most helpless people would get if they are allowed to come to shore to receive the minimum of care to save their lives. Then, they could be deported to their countries of origin subsequently. If conditions of some proved that they were no better than stateless people, they could be allowed temporary residence. At the same time clear warnings could be issued like this far and no further or that henceforth the authorities will be even stricter in giving them the minimum help. Surely, such a milder response can well safeguard the interests of these countries while also would likely prove effective in discouraging potential trespassers. The ASEAN countries may contend that they have not signed UN conventions that obligate them to discharge certain services for refugees or persons in distress. But apart from institutional law, international law and domestic law jurists everywhere recognize that there is a highe source from which all laws sprang called natural law. This law is based on humankinds expected behaviour everywhere of showing minimum humanity towards the truly distressed ones regardless of their own contribution to their misery. Such law is based on the conscience of humans to show compassion to all fellow humans in utter misery regardless of their nationalities, race or religion. Thus, it has been a great disappointment to see our ASEAN neighbours almost completely ignoring this aspect of their expected adherence to even these time honoured canons of natural law. Human trafficking is not unique to our part of the world. There are far worse cases of such trafficking to be noted across the Mediterranean as thousands of people from Middle Eastern countries have been trying desperately to cross into Europe in a manner not very different from the boat people who are being spotted off the coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia now. But the typical response of the European countries continue to be comparatively far more hospitable towards these refugees. They are not sending warships to frighten away the refuges or absolutely ensuring that they cannot land. Upon arriving in their coasts, the refugees are seen to be getting the minimum of care though physically they are kept interned. The stand of the European countries contrasts sharply with our ASEAN countries who are behaving that they care nothing whether the trafficked people live or die and that their only duty is to push them back no matter how inhuman the costs of such actions. The office of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) has been shouting at the top of its voice that ASEAN nations need to show more empathy towards the boat people matching international standards. But so far, their pleadings have been in vain. Nonetheless, there is a flicker of hope that the Thai government has called a meeting of 15 countries on 29th of the current month supposedly to deal with the issue of the boat people. The United States is one of the countries that was invited and also Bangladesh. Notably, the US has been insisting all along like Bangladesh that the boat people in south east Asia should be shown at least minimum humanitarian considerations. Let us hope that our foreign office will get its act together well before this vital meeting takes place. We must be able to utilize this meeting to rally support for our stand that the boat people must not be treated just like expendable animals. We should be able to impress upon the representatives of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia that they should, on ad hoc basis, deal with the several thousands of boat people now floating in the sea in absolute peril, leniently till addressing the issue comprehensively by all the states involved in the medium and longer terms. More importantly, Bangladesh needs to go all out to mobilize a stand among the participants in this meeting that for addressing the issue effectively it is indispensable to get Myanmars cooperation. In other words, Myanmar must be subjected to due pressure in this meeting to agree to end its on going policies of barbaric persecution of the Rohingyas that is at the core of the problem. Muslim Rohingyas flee Myanmar where they and their ancestors have lived for over a millennia from Nazi style pogroms conducted against them by the Bhuddist majority backed up by the Myanmarese military and para-military forces. Once such persecution is stopped, the Rohingya exodus affecting the neighbouring countries can come down to a trickle in a matter of weeks or even sooner. So, the keys to normalizing the situation lies greatly in persuading and compelling the Myanmar government to adopt international standards by completely stopping the barbarities against the Rohingyas and granting them full citizenship along with unfettered enjoyment of their basic rights. Bangladesh needs to play a catalytic diplomatic role in this regard among the neighbouring countries, USA, EU and all others who think likewise to act in concert and mount pressure on Myanmar to give the Rohingyas their due. As for Bangladeshis being found among the trafficked boat people, this is a transient phenomenon and would be likely fully controlled sooner than later as the consciousness of the victims is rising fast about a hopeless and dreadful future only they can expect from responding to the allurements of traffickers. Furthermore, government in Bangladesh has been sensitized by the problem and probably it is only a matter of time before the presence of Bangladeshis among boat people dwindle down. As it is, our government must have realized by now that Bangladeshs image as an upcoming economic power house, as a good destination of foreign investment and as a middle income country to be, all of these positive accomplishments would be at stake from allowing some human traffickers to create a reverse image most undeservedly of this country as one where its own citizens take great risks to leave it in desperation. The tasks now wait for our law enforcers to clearly identify the networks of traffickers within Bangladesh and their sponsors abroad. This identification must be followed up with efforts to smash the networks to bits notwithstanding that some interest groups are there who could try to subvert the process. Reportedly, some politicians and members of law enforcement agencies are also involved. Therefore enough resolve must be shown from the highest level of the government to crush such interest groups for good and maintain the momentum in this direction. Bangladesh has a tough law against human trafficking that was adopted in 2012. But this law has been hardly enforced. It should now be applied with real vigour against the offenders to bring to nil in no time the cases of human trafficking for which Bangladesh is now blamed. From the highest level of the government, the law enforcers should be ordered to unsparingly apply this law wasting no time at all to bring to a complete halt attempts at human trafficking. The writer is Associate Editor of theindependent. E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]