Trust is earned

When institutions that are created to support and nurture fail their own mission, it is difficult to feel anything but a profound sense of loss and frustration. Whether it is reports of exploitation and abuse at seminaries or schools in Pakistan, or at churches or boarding houses for the Indigenous in Canada, the anger is palpable. But the issue of failure is not limited to institutions of learning, or those that work primarily with children. A recent HRW report on activities of the UNHCR should trouble us deeply.

The Rohingya community of Myanmar has suffered deeply and has been on the receiving end of ethnic cleansing. Many have found refuge in Bangladesh, across the border from Myanmar. During the last three years, nearly 800,000 Rohingya refugees were registered by UNHCR and their biometric data was collected to improve aid distribution. UNHCR then shared this data with the Bangladeshi government, which then subsequently passed it to Myanmar, the very country the Rohingya are fleeing from. According to the investigation by HRW, all this was done without consent from the Rohingya.

In its defence, the UNHCR has said that the Rohingya consented to their data being collected and shared. Al Jazeera reports, “The UN agency insisted its staff asked Rohingya for permission to share their data for repatriation eligibility assessments, and explained that the so-called Smart Card needed to access aid would be issued regardless of whether they agreed to sharing the information.” UNHCR also said it had provided advice to ensure that the Rohingya refugees “fully understood the purpose of the exercise”.

The Rohingya refugees, however, when contacted by HRW, dispute this. The HRW contacted over two dozen refugees, and all but one said that they were told what the data would be used for. Most had no idea what they were consenting for, or were never told. After their data was collected, a receipt was given to them stating they had agreed to share their data. The receipt was in English, which most Rohingya cannot read, write or understand.

The implications of this breach of trust are significant and long lasting. Not only do these refugees risk strong repercussions from the Myanmar authorities, but there is always a risk of this data being used to target families and social networks by regimes (such as those in Myanmar) that do not wish them well. There is also a risk that the refugees would be distrustful of future aid-related activities and they have every reason to be anxious and worried.

Just as we cannot brush aside the abuses in institutions and seminaries as one-off incidents, we certainly cannot dismiss this particular instance of breach of trust between the UN agency, which is there to protect the refugees, and its actions, which risk the lives of those it aims to protect. Protecting those who have no social, political or financial agency is a collective human responsibility, and needs to be vigilantly guarded. In matters of asymmetry in power, the refugees are powerless, and international agencies are all powerful. Their actions or inactions, can shape, protect or ruin lives.

I do believe that most boarding schools are not evil places. Most teachers are not abusive in seminaries or at schools, and UNHCR does a lot of good for a lot of refugees. That said, trust cannot be automatic, permanent or without checks. The vulnerable in the camps don’t have the luxury to hold the powerful accountable, or give one-star reviews. The real humanitarianism is not about banners, big offices or logos on tents. It is about living by the motto of care and concern for others who need support. It is also about stopping abuse in all forms. In that sense, we all need to be permanent humanitarians

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2021.

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