findings i: movement restrictions in bangladesh
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Survey Responses: Rohingya Freedom of Movement
ability to move...
Unable to
move at all
Able to move
a little bit
Able to move
Quite a bit
Able to move
Extremely
outside the camp to other towns ......... 40.2% ............... 53.9% ................. 2.5% .................. 3.3%
from one camp to another .................... 3.3% ................ 68.9% .................22.4% ................. 5.4%
within your own camp .......................... 0.8% ................. 8.7% .................. 71.4% ................ 19.1%
Policies: Permissions and Documentation
Many interview respondents reported needing specific documentation or permission letters to be
able to leave camps or travel within the camps. Depending on the situation, they may need to show
a permission letter from the CIC, their United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
ID card, and/or specific documentation related to the nature of their travel. For example, to exit due
to a medical reason requires a referral letter from a camp clinic to enable travel to a hospital. Some
respondents reported that they also need to be escorted by majis to be able to cross checkpoints.
“In order to cross the checkpoint, we need to carry our family data cards,” said Ali, a 25-year-old
Rohingya man, “and we also need to take the sub-maji with us. Yet the police treat us rudely, and often ask us why we can’t get treatments from the health facilities which are inside the camp.” 47
Policies: Curfew
Respondents reported that Rohingya are not allowed to be outside of their shelters or cross
checkpoints after 6pm, because of a curfew imposed by the authorities. They are also
not permitted to spend the night in another shelter or keep shops open after 6pm.
Some respondents reported that being forced to stay inside their shelters in the evenings increased
their distress associated with living in the camps. Aziza, a 38-year-old Rohingya woman, stated that
it worsened her symptoms of trauma associated with violence in Myanmar: “As we feel stressed out
because of having flashbacks of what happened to us in Myanmar, we like to sit outside of our houses at night as it
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Interview C1WM