Over 2,200 refugees to be processed in second week of November

12 November 2018
Over 2,200 refugees to be processed in second week of November
Rohingya refugees in the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp, in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo: Peter Klaunzer/EPA

Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye said that 2,251 refugees would come back to Myanmar as first batch on November 15.

This first batch of over 2,000 Bengali refugees will be taken from Ngakhura waterway gate and Myanmar will verify them by five verification teams.

Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye said, “We will verify them by checking their profile with our records and documentation. There are five verification teams for this work. Each team will verify five families so that 25 families can be verified simultaneously. And then they will be issued with National Verification Cards (NVC) for citizenship processing. They will get citizenship in accordance with our citizenship law.”

The repatriated refugees will be received at two reception camps, Taungpyo Letwe and Ngakhura in Maungdaw Township and they will be kept there for two days and then temporarily resettled at Hla Pho Khaung transit station. The Myanmar government will provide them with food supplies for one month, services for education and health, and easy access to kitchen supplies, according to a press conference.

Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye said, “These people will not have to stay at Hla Pho Khaung transit camp but only for a long period. They will have rights of freedom of movement in Maungdaw area with this document.”