DW chief editor: Radicalization of Rohingyas could be Bangladesh’s biggest challenge

Radicalization of Rohingya refugees could be Bangladesh’s biggest challenge in the near future, says Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle Chief Editor Ines Pohl said. 

DW arranged a round-table discussion, “Migration— Challenges and Approaches in the East and the West,” at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, in Dhaka, on Saturday. 

She said security – especially for women and even more so for young girls – along with early marriage and human rights are some challenges, but in the longer term, “radicalization could be the biggest challenge we are all facing.”  

“We all have to find a way to offer some opportunities, mainly to these young men [Rohingya youths]. We have to deliver some prospects, which is more than just sitting there without any purpose,” the DW Chief Editor Pohl said.  

Pohl, who recently visited the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, said they were fulfilling the important task of delivering reliable information to people in the camps and also informing the world about the everyday life of the refugees. 

The discussion also shed light on the state of the Rohingya’s : education, hygiene, population growth, trauma, natural hazards in the camps, integration and the repatriation of the displaced population.  

During the event, bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi said 10 months had already passed since the repatriation agreement was signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar, but there is no progress with its implementation.  

“The reason is political and the political condition in Myanmar has not changed yet. I think the leaders of the Bangladesh government do understand that the situation will not change soon. Everyone formally or informally recognizes the fact that they are going to stay,” he said. 

At least 700,000 Rohingyas, mostly women and children, entered Bangladesh fleeing the violence which erupted in Myanmar on August 25, 2017. 

According to global media reports, thousands of Rohingyas, including children, were slaughtered while women and girls were raped by the Myanmar army and Buddhist extremists. 

Journalist Khalidi said it was easy to work on the causes of massive migration instead of tackling the aftermath. 

He said: “There has to be some consensuses among the global leaders about the responsibility. Because the crisis has – the root cause of migration – been created due to conflict.” 

Expressing concern about the overall hygiene throughout and security of the refugee camps, DW’s Head of Asia Programs Debarati Guha said: “The main task is to give them a sense of belonging and a future where they get needful education and information for their livelihood.”  

Impressed by the widespread use of social media in Bangladesh, Tobias Grote-Beverborg, DW’s Distribution executive for South Asia, observes: “Social media could help the refugees to stay updated and connected.”

The organizers said DW also organized five-day training on, “Fake news, Verification and Community Management,” for journalists belonging to its partner organizations.