For more than two years, fishermen in the Naf River have been living through extreme hardships since fishing in the river remains suspended ordered by Bangladesh home ministry. Although diverse support programs to continue livelihood have been taken up for the host communities affected by the Rohingya refugees, fishermen expressed that are being neglected.
Fishing in Naf, a Trans- boundary river sheared by Bangladesh and neighboring Myanmar, has been suspended since an influx into the Bangladesh of persecuted Rohingyas fleeing a military crackdown in Rakhine state of Myanmar that began in August 2017. With the directive of the home ministry, local authorities enforced the ban to prevent the Rohingya refugees from smuggling drugs like, yaba into Cox’s Bazar a southern district of Bangladesh, using Naf river.
The United Nation Agencies have taken up the Joint Response Plan JRP, a massive relief programs at a cost of US$920 million in the area for 1.3 million people in which 1 million of Rohingya refugees and three hundred thousand from affected host communities mostly in Ukhia and Teknaf sub-district of Cox’s Bazar. Many fishermen of Naf River get food and other basic assistance and got support for earning alternative livelihoods.
In such situation, it has been two years on, but the fate of these fishermen suffering from uncertainty caused due to the fishing ban in Naf River remain unchanged. Milon Kanti Das (45) father of six of Nhila fishermen village of Teknaf told The Bangladesh Post, Sometimes NGOs give us rice, oil and sugar but many more things need in everyday. In the meantime I got a goat and some Poultry to earn an alternative livelihood.”
An aggrieved fisherman says that he used to make about Tk 1000-1500 a day from selling fish almost everyday. The support in kind is not enough to make a living which he said cannot continue like this as he said they are born to fish in the sea and rivers. Departments of Fisheries in Cox’s Bazar source informed that the about 5,000 fishermen and other workers associated with fishing are in a dire situation due to the ban on the 50-kilometer-long river. Since fishing ban in Teknaf the local authorities and Boarder Guard Bangladesh, BGB jointly listed 1141 fishermen for providing alternative livelihood.
Delwoar Hossain, Assistant Fisheries Officer (AFO) in Teknaf said, “With the assistance from the international agencies, the government have been trying to create job opportunities and offer daily basics to the Jobless fishermen.” Since fishing stopped, the fishermen have been working in local salt production industries mostly as a day laborers employed by Non Governmental Organizations NGO’s in refugee camps. The wages has also dropped as the NGOs find cheaper labourers offered by the Rohingyas refugees. For this reason many local fishermen also get frustrated getting such low wages.
“As there is no fishing the boats and nets of many fishermen is also being damages” said Chandra Prashad Das of Nila fishermen village, “My family had four boats and five nets, which would have earned TK at least 2,000 daily. Even if fishing is allowed again, these nets and boats will not work.”
A sad face of Chandra Prashad said that he now earns Tk 17000 as monthly salary working with WorldFish, an international organization working in the areas. Uttam Kumar, a supervisor of Worldfish working in Teknaf said, “The average daily income of fishermen of Naf River was TK 1000, but it is impossible for aid agencies or anyone to replace the Eco- Social conditions of fishermen that once existed.” “Though fishing ban in the river is still in force but merchant and passenger vessels are operating as usual,” said one official of fishing department.
Last week, a Bangladeshi fisherman Noor Mohammad was shot dead and another Abul Kalam injured allegedly by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) when they went to fishing disobeying the ban in the Naf River in Teknaf. Contacted, Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Hasan Khan, Battalion Commander of Teknaf BGB in Cox’s Bazar told Bangladesh Post, “The Home Ministry suspended fishing in Naf River to prevent Rohingya infiltration into Bangladesh and drug smuggling. Beside this, due to uneasy situation along the border with Myanmar, to ensure the safety of locals the ban has been continuing strictly.”
