findings i: movement restrictions in bangladesh 24 Existence of Restrictions Rohingya respondents detailed a number of extreme restrictions on movement that impact all areas of daily life in the refugee camps; 99 percent of respondents said that restrictions on freedom of movement exist for Rohingya, and 94 percent reported that restrictions on movement are impacting their daily lives.39 Interview respondents reported that restrictions on movement were implemented by the government-appointed Camp in Charge (CIC) officers. However, respondents also reported that the restrictions are unclear due to the inconsistent communication of restrictions and their arbitrary enforcement. Only 46 percent of survey respondents were aware of official laws that restrict Rohingya movement, while almost all interview respondents reported the existence of arbitrary policies and unofficial enforcement practices that authorities use to restrict Rohingya movement in the camps. “The problem is that we don’t know about their laws,” said Hassan, a 32-year-old Rohingya man. “We think that most of their actions are outside of the [official] rules, as these various kinds of punishment are not in the true law. I haven’t heard of any law that allows them to take a person into custody and beat him and then release him by taking money. There is no law like that in Myanmar. I think that they do some things within the boundary of the law, and some other things outside the boundary of the law.” 40,41 Respondents reported that camp policies and restrictions are communicated through the CIC officers, albeit to a limited extent. The CICs pass information along to the majis (Rohingya unelected leaders) who are then responsible for communicating these rules with the residents of their blocks. However, due “I haven’t heard of any law that allows them to take a person into custody and beat him and then release him by taking money.” to insufficient and inconsistent communication, a number of respondents reported that this system is ineffective in informing Rohingya about the policies, restrictions, and laws that exist, and more importantly, the reasons they exist and the penalties for breaking them. Many respondents felt that restrictions were intentionally unclear to enable arbitrary enforcement by police and government officials. Many Rohingya reported a system of trial and error–not knowing the rules until they found themselves being punished for breaking them. Respondents frequently reported that clear rules and regulations are needed, and that the communication of these restrictions needs to be clear and public. “We only learn about new rules after we are punished for breaking them,” said Hamid, a 28-year-old Rohingya man. “We wouldn’t break the rules if we knew what they were ahead of time.”42 Policies: Prohibitions on Leaving Camps and Restricted Movement Within Camps The vast majority of interview respondents reported the existence of strict policies that prohibit Rohingya from exiting the camps to travel to other towns or villages. These regulations reportedly had very few exceptions, and many reported being denied exit even when attempting to leave the camps for an urgent 39 40 41 42 The extent of this impact is discussed further in Section IV: Impacts of Restrictions. Interview C03M Note: all names of respondents, both Rohingya and APBn officers have been changed to protect their identities. Interview C21M