Burma Human Rights Network’s report: “We also have dreams” Gang Activity The issue of ‘gang activity’ is a complicated one for this report. The term was used in interviews and left intentionally vague to allow refugees more room to speak freely about groups they may otherwise not want to discuss by name. Despite this, more than 15% of refugees still declined to speak on the topic for fear of reprisals against them. Some of those interviewed associated ‘gang activity’ with criminal gangs or traffickers, while others clearly associated the term with militant groups present in the camps. With this being the case, some even spoke positively about ‘gangs’ inside the camp who they said they felt offered protection for them. Militant groups around the world have often garnered grassroots support by offering security and social services to the populations they represent and in that regard, it isn’t surprising that this is the case in the Bangladesh refugee camps as well. It is remarkable, however, that it is so easy for these groups to garner support from the public by offering services that security forces and authorities are placed there to provide. The failure to adequately protect civilians and address their grievances has left a void that was inevitably going to be filled by one group or another. This should be a cause for the Bangladesh government www.bhrn.org.uk 28