Saviours or profiteers? Bangladesh fishermen rescue Rohingya, for a price

Shaif Ullah, 34, a Bangladeshi, who co-owns a fishing boat, said he made 100,000 taka ($1,220) rescuing the family of a Rohingya in Malaysia who paid him via BKash, a popular mobile money service, after he returned to Bangladeshi shores.

"People from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia call me and tell me to go there to get their family," he said. "They are crying for my help. I take money from them, yes, but it's also a humanitarian act."

Two refugees have told Reuters their family members were detained by fishermen or brokers in Bangladesh when they could not pay for the journey. Several also complained they had to hand over gold and other jewellery to boat operators.

"We had no chance to negotiate with the boatmen," said Ali Johar, 75, an elder from his village in southern Maungdaw, just across the Naf river that forms the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, now staying in Shamlapur.

He handed over his wife's gold necklace and a gold ring, in addition to 7,000 taka for the rescue of him and about 30 members of his extended family, including young children, he said.

"But we are grateful to the fishermen for bringing us here," he said. "There were so many people trying to get here. If they didn't bring us, we would be stuck."

Burning Boats

Pronay Chakma says it was a "stroke of fate" that thrust him into a key role in Bangladesh's response to the crisis. The 31-year-old administrator arrived in Teknaf to start a new job as sub-district assistant commissioner for land on Aug. 23, two days before northwestern Myanmar exploded into violence.

"The thing is that, yes, the fishermen can go there, no problem, but if they demand money from the pain of stricken people, is it humanitarian? No," he said.

Chakma - a Buddhist member of the Chakma tribe who live scattered throughout South Asia - is an executive magistrate, which means he can hand down jail terms in simple criminal cases. He interrupted an interview with Reuters to sentence a man to three months for possession of five methamphetamine tablets.

Chakma and another local official have sentenced at least 100 people to terms of up to six months for continuing to charge Rohingya refugees for ferrying them to safety.

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