Teknaf prays for peace of all
What the people of Teknaf now seem to want most is peace in the bordering Myanmarese state of Rakhine.
Muslims of the upazila during Jum'a yesterday prayed for communal harmony in the neighbouring country, where minority Rohingyas have been victims of persecution and oppression for years.
Bangladeshi Rakhines also offered prayers for an end to recent sectarian violence in Maungdaw and Sittwe (formerly Akyab) in the western state of Myanmar.
Muslims prayed also for calm in Teknaf, an upazila in southern district of Cox's Bazar.
“We prayed for peace in both the bordering areas,” Amir Ahmed, president of a local association of imams, told The Daily Star after Jum'a.
“We [imams] asked all to pray for the Muslims, who face brutal attacks in Myanmar, and not to go for any agitation or procession here.”
The 55-year-old man also said he warned people against any sort of violence that might hamper peace in Teknaf.
“As we came to know that Myanmar government pledged to solve the problem and ensure justice for the recent persecutions, I told our Muslims that we got only one thing to do -- pray for peace.”
The local administration is on alert and has taken measures to prevent any conflict, ANM Nazim Uddin, upazila nirbahi officer of Teknaf, told The Daily Star yesterday.
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh and police are deployed near almost all the mosques in Teknaf.
There are roughly 450 mosques in the upazila.
Apart from around 50 thousand illegal Rohingya immigrants, 2.60 lakh Bangladeshi people live in 388.68 square kilometre area of Teknaf, two-thirds of which is covered with forest.
Though the daily life in the locality appeared to be normal, as a precaution, local administration also engaged BGB and police in the Rakhine dominated areas and near their pagodas.
The Border Guard Bangladesh personnel have been patrolling the Rakhine areas since last Saturday, said Ching Ching, 56, a businessman and residence of Chowdhury Para.
Mahbubul Haque, officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station, said since the bordering area in Myanmar erupted into violence, they keep in touch with local Rakhine community.
Law enforcers are positioned also in the neighbourhoods of Rohingyas.
The largest Rakhine area in Teknaf is Chowdhury Para at Hnila union, around 18 kilometres off the upazila headquarters and home to some 110 Rakhine families.
Over 50 Rakhine families live in Kharankhali area, 30 families in the upazila headquarter, 13 families in Hnila Bazar and a few in Sabrang Bazar and Damdam area.
Mong Ching Aung, president of Rakhine Welfare Association (Hnila-Chowdhury Para unit), told The Daily Star yesterday that they are living in peace so far.
“But it is natural to be anxious a bit following the last week's bloody clash between Rakhine and Rohingyas in Myanmar.”
Mong said every Rakhine family is offering prayer for immediate end to the crisis. They hope the tension of one side of the border would not affect another.
Some locals who maintain contacts in Maungdaw said the Myanmar authority had taken steps to avoid further violence.
GUARDS SENT BACK A BOAT
BGB and coast guard teams pushed back a group of 44 yesterday.
Coast guards intercepted 43 Rohingyas who tried to enter Bangladesh through Saint Martin's Island on a trawler on Wednesday, reports our Chittagong correspondent.
The trawler could not be pushed back immediately as it was damaged while trying to moor in gusty wind and rain.
Meanwhile, a baby was born on the boat Thursday morning.
The BGB and coast guard provided the intruders with a new trawler and sent them back around 4:30am yesterday.
The country's border force is on high alert as the government on Tuesday decided not to allow any refugee from Myanmar and asked the administration and law enforcement agencies to beef up vigilance.
