Bangladeshi Mizanur faces passport complications after registering at refugee camp for relief

Mizanur Rahman, a young man from Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, went to obtain a passport because he planned to travel to Saudi Arabia for employment. Although all his documents, including his National Identity (NID) Card, were in order, he ran into trouble at the passport office.

When Mizanur provided his fingerprints there, the system identified his information in the registered database of Rohingya refugees. As a result, officials suspended his application.

Prothom Alo learnt about 21-year-old Mizanur Rahman’s difficulties in obtaining a passport after visiting a neighbourhood of local Bangladeshi residents at the Lambashia Rohingya refugee camp (Camp No. 4) in Ukhia. Mizanur’s father, Mostak Mia, 50, is a Bangladeshi citizen and had been living in the neighbourhood before the camp was established.

When Rohingya refugees entered Bangladesh on 25 August 2017, he sheltered three refugee families in his home. Later, when the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR registered Rohingya refugees to distribute relief, Mostak Mia registered his entire family as well. The names of day labourer Mostak Mia, his wife and their four children were consequently stored in the Rohingya database.

The government has now connected the Rohingya database to the National Identity Card server through Application Programming Interface (API) technology.

As a result, when Mostak’s son Mizanur provided his fingerprints, the system identified his name in the Rohingya database. The Cox’s Bazar Regional Passport Office subsequently turned him away.

Mizanur Rahman, Mostak Mia’s eldest son, encountered this problem when he visited the passport office in early July. He then approached a local elected representative to have his name removed from the UNHCR refugee database.

Although he submitted an application, there has been no progress so far. Mizanur’s father, Mostak Mia, said, “My family has been receiving relief assistance for nine years. I did not know that this would create complications over our citizenship and passports.”

Helal Uddin, a member of ward no. 9 of Rajapalong union in Ukhia, said, “I know about Mizanur’s case. At least 30 Bangladeshi citizens in my ward have faced similar problems.”

He said he had personally recommended to the relevant authorities that their names be removed from the refugee list.

“Because the NID Card database and the Rohingya database have been integrated, Bangladeshis are unable to obtain passports or register as voters,” he added.

M Gafur Uddin Chowdhury, chairman of Palongkhali union parishad in Ukhia, said that 50 to 60 applications from his union had already been sent to the district administration and the office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC).

He said, “In particular, members of the younger generation who were children in 2017 are now discovering that they were registered as Rohingya in government records when they have reached adulthood and applied for passports.”

Mohammad Mobarak Hossain, assistant director of the Cox’s Bazar Regional Passport Office, said, “Many Bangladeshis underwent biometric registration alongside Rohingya refugees at the camps in the hope of receiving relief. As a result, when they come to apply for passports and provide their fingerprints, their names appear in the Rohingya database.”

He said officials then advise such Bangladeshi applicants not to proceed with their passport applications until they have their names removed from the Rohingya database and bring documentary evidence confirming the removal.

Mobarak Hossain further said, “If Rohingya people somehow obtain fake Bangladeshi NIDs and come to apply for passports, the system also detects them. We are following all the procedures required to establish Bangladeshi citizenship.”

Mohammad Shahid Ullah, assistant director of the Cox’s Bazar Regional Passport Office, echoed the same view. He said that even if Bangladeshi citizens have NID Cards, those wishing to obtain passports must first have their names and information removed from the Rohingya database. Otherwise, it is not possible to obtain a passport.

Several hundred Bangladeshis in Ukhia’s Balukhali and Thaingkhali, Nhila, Whykong and Nayapara in Teknaf, and Shilkhali in Baharchhara have had their names included in the Rohingya database while seeking relief. These families have been receiving relief assistance like the Rohingya.

It has been learnt that some unscrupulous Rohingya majhis (leaders) in the camps and some employees working at biometric centres registered Bangladeshis in exchange for Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,500 per person.

An investigation found that around 500 Bengali families live in the Kutupalong and Lambashia refugee camp areas of Ukhia. Of these, at least 420 families have had their names included in the Rohingya database.

According to information from the office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), the Rohingya biometric database had until now remained under the sole control of UNHCR. The RRRC could only access the information.

The Government has now connected the Rohingya database to the National Identity Card server using Application Programming Interface (API) technology.

Developed with assistance from the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC), the new system automatically matches Rohingyas’ fingerprint data with the NID database.

As a result, the system detects any Rohingya person who attempts to obtain a passport or register as a voter using a Bangladeshi identity.

Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Refugee Relief and Repatriation commissioner (RRRC) and additional secretary, said, “Many Bangladeshis had their names included in the refugee list to receive relief. Many people are applying to have their names removed from the database. We are sending those applications to the deputy commissioner for verification. After verifying them, the deputy commissioner sends the applications back to us, and we recommend that the applicants’ names be removed from the database before forwarding the applications to UNHCR.”

Deputy Commissioner Md A Mannan said, “Registering oneself as a Rohingya in the hope of receiving relief is an illegal act.”

He said around 1,000 such applications had currently been submitted to his office. “For each application, we will verify the applicant’s identity and citizenship and take action in accordance with the law,” he added.

When asked about the matter, Shari Nizman, communications officer at UNHCR Bangladesh, said the Ministry of Home Affairs conducts preliminary biometric registration of newly arrived Rohingyas to coordinate assistance programmes.

Under a memorandum of understanding on data sharing signed in January 2018, the Ministry of Home Affairs subsequently handed the information over to UNHCR. The Government and UNHCR then conducted a joint verification exercise from June 2018 to December 2019.

She said the Government of Bangladesh and UNHCR jointly verify and screen refugees’ information. Shari Nizman said the process is designed to ensure that people who are not refugees are not registered.

Despite these safeguards, a limited number of people are inadvertently registered. She said the Government and UNHCR have a clear process for reviewing and correcting such cases when they are identified.

“We are taking the matter seriously. Applications are being reviewed through a specific process. Only those whose Bangladeshi citizenship the Government of Bangladesh confirms will have their names removed from the refugee registration,” she said.