PM Hasina urges IOM to raise more funds for Rohingyas

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday urged the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to raise more funds from newer sources for assistance of the Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh as its Director General (DG) Amy Pope paid a courtesy call on her.

“As the fund for the assistance of Rohingya (in Bangladesh) decreased, the IOM should find new partners to raise more funds to help the displaced Myanmar nationals,” prime minister’s speech writer M Nazrul Islam quoted her as saying to Amy Pope at their meeting in Ganabhaban.

In a media briefing after the meeting at the prime minister’s official residence, Islam said the prime minister also asked the IOM to help relocate Rohingyas to Bhashanchar as an abode for 100,000 Rohingyas has been built there with all the facilities including education, healthcare services and employment.

Around 30,000-35,000 Rohingyas have so far been relocated to the Bhashan char.

During the meeting, the IOM Director General, who visited the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar Monday, raised the issue of security in the camps to the prime minister.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has deployed an appropriate number of security personnel in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps to ensure their safety and security.

She further stated that the Rohingyas are divided into several groups and sub-groups that are engaged in conflicts.

Local people have now become a minority in their locality as the Rohingyas are larger in number, she added.

Amy Pope raised the issue of the need for imparting proper training on language and culture to the migrated people to scale up their skill as per the demand of the host countries.

In reply, the prime minister said her government has attached topmost priority on giving proper training on profession and language to anyone in case of sending him to another country.

She continued that they have built 112 technical training centres (TTCs) across the country for providing training to build skilled manpower.

Sheikh Hasina also said migration is a natural process. “But, the migration ratio will decline significantly if poverty reduces,” she remarked.

The prime minister also said her government has initiated various programmes for the migrants that include giving loans without asking for any guarantee.

The prime minister said both the host and source countries should protect the interests of the migrated people as they work for socio-economic advancement of both the countries.

She said people are migrating internally because of climate change as well.

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries for climate change and people are being migrated internally for river erosion, flood and cyclone, she said.

The prime minister said her government has given houses to over 4,000 climate refugees at Khurushkul in Cox’s Bazar.

She also said her government has been building climate resilient houses in the coastal belts and floating houses in flood prone areas and has given the houses to the homeless people free of cost.

PM’s principal secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah and secretary of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry Md Ruhul Amin, among others, were present.