'Stranded Pakistanis' living in camps in Bangladesh – in pictures

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Bangladesh’s Urdu-speaking minority community, sometimes known as Biharis, are consigned to live in camps for ‘stranded Pakistanis’ that were set up in 1971, during the establishment of the Bangladeshi state, even though they have no roots in modern Pakistan. They often live in dire conditions, facing discrimination from mainstream society. Legal aid NGO Namati is trying to help them gain access to citizenship

  • Staff camp, Dhaka. There are about 300,000 Urdu-speaking people living in camps for stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. The camps date from 1971, when fighting during the establishment of the Bangladeshi state forced the Urdu-speaking minority into these supposedly temporary dwellings. All photographs: Bremen Donovan/Namati
    Staff camp, Dhaka. There are about 300,000 members of the Urdu-speaking community living in camps “for stranded Pakistanis" in Bangladesh. Some are re-appropriated old government buildings. Others are makeshift shanties built up from the ground. The camps date from 1971, when fighting during the establishment of the Bangladeshi state forced the country’s Urdu-speaking minority - who were identified with West Pakistan - into these supposedly temporary camps, where they have lived ever since.

  • Geneva camp, Dhaka. Many ancestors of the Urdu-speaking minority came from Bihar, India, during the partition in 1947. The camps’ residents are referred to as Bihari, which is a loaded term in Bangladesh. Some trace their ancestry back not to Bihar, but to other regions in India and present-day Pakistan
    Geneva camp, Dhaka. Many ancestors of the Urdu-speaking minority came from Bihar, India, during the partition in 1947. The camps’ residents are referred to as Bihari, which is a loaded term in Bangladesh. Some trace their ancestry back not to Bihar, but to other regions in India and present-day Pakistan.

  • In many of the Bihari camps in Dhaka, the floors are weak and prone to crumbling. Gaps in the walls and under the stairways expose rusted structural steel and rotting concrete. Electrical lines hang in webs above the hallways and are perilously frayed
    Geneva Camp Dhaka. In many of the ‘Bihari' camps in Dhaka, you experience the sensation that the floor may simply crumble under your feet any moment. Gaps in the walls and under the stairways expose rusted structural steel and rotting concrete. Electrical lines hang in webs above the hallways and are perilously frayed. A young resident explains that when stones fall, families pool money to purchase wet cement to simply patch the spot.

  • Many Biharis are increasingly able to pass as mainstream Bangladeshis. This gives them access to housing and services such as education – and a better chance of acquiring citizenship documents. But for Urdu speakers, ‘passing’ in order to get the basic rights granted by law means abandoning their culture
    Geneva Camp, Dhaka. Because they are Muslim, do not look physically different from mainstream Bangladeshis, and those who go to school are taught in Bengali, many Biharis are increasingly able to “pass” as mainstream Bangladeshis. Passing allows them access to housing and services like education – and gives them a better shot at acquiring citizenship documents. But for Urdu speakers, "passing" in order to get the basic rights granted by law, means abandoning your culture.

  • Mymensingh camp, Dhaka. Urdu speakers have suffered discrimination and extreme poverty since the country’s war of liberation. Despite a law introduced in 2008 that guarantees citizenship for Bihari refugees, they face serious obstacles to obtaining citizenship documents such as passports and birth certificates
    Mymensingh camp, Dhaka. Urdu speakers have suffered discrimination and extreme poverty ever since the country’s war of liberation. Despite a law introduced in 2008 that guarantees citizenship for Bihari refugees, they face serious obstacles to obtaining citizenship documents like passports and birth certificates.

  • The conditions in the camp are dire. Houses are separated by two-foot (61cm) wide passageways shared by residents, goats and chickens. Houses are tiny, usually less than 8x8ft, and host entire families. Residents raise their beds to make space for possessions underneath. When it rains, the camp floods, toilets included
    Mymensingh Bihari Camp, Bangladesh. The conditions of the camp in Mymensingh are dire. Houses are separated by two-foot wide passageways shared by camp residents, goats and chickens. Houses are tiny, usually less than eight by eight feet, and cram in entire families - often more than ten people. Inside, residents loft their beds to make space for pots and pans and other essential possessions on the floor underneath. When it rains, the entire camp floods, public toilets included.

  • In 2013, the legal empowerment organisation Namati partnered the Council on Minorities, a local rights group, to provide services to people seeking citizenship documents. Since last June, 10 paralegals and three volunteers have been trained to work across all the country’s camps and have assisted almost 1,500 stateless people
    In 2013, the international legal empowerment organisation Namati partnered with local rights group Council on Minorities to provide services to people seeking citizenship documents – by training a corps of local paralegals or "grassroots advocates". Since June 2013, ten paralegals and three volunteers have been working across all the camps in the country and have assisted almost 1,500 stateless people.

  • Nahid Parvin, 20, is a paralegal working for the Urdu-speaking community in Dhaka. She says her work has changed her life. Although she is young, she has experienced a lot of respect from her community. “Everyone says salam, and they call me madame,” she says. Parvin feels inspired to continue her work in development by training as a social worker
    Nahid Parvin, a paralegal working for her Urdu-speaking community in Dhaka. Being a paralegal has brought change in Nahid’s life. Although she is young, and a woman, she says since becoming a paralegal she has experienced a lot of respect from her community. “Everyone says ‘salam’, and they call me Madame.” She says she feels inspired to train as a social worker, to continue doing development work.

  • Parvin, who is from the Bihari community, has basic law and mediation training. She works as a grassroots advocate, helping people apply for identity documents. Parvin suffered discrimination growing up: ‘Teachers would say, “Oh, you’re from the camps, you killed our forefathers in ‘71.” I didn’t say anything,’ she says. ‘But I cried all the time’
    Nahid Parvin, a 20-year old from the Bihari community trained in basic law and mediation, and works as a grassroots advocate helping people to apply for ID cards, birth certificates and passports that some local government officials resent giving to Urdu-speakers. Nahid recalls discrimination when she was growing up: "Teachers would say, 'Oh, you’re from the camps, you killed our forefathers in ’71.' I didn’t say anything,” she says. “But I cried all the time.”

  • For women, the prospect of travelling by foot or public transport to deal with officials and exchange money is intimidating. The community faces rejection or bribe requests when applying for ID documents. But for some it is worth the risk, as a Bangladeshi passport allows residents to work abroad and send back remittances
    For women from the Urdu-speaking camp community, the prospect of traveling by foot and public transportation to a City Corporation office, dealing with officials and exchanging money there, is intimidating. In general Urdu-speaking women who live in the camps leave even less frequently than men. The whole community faces regular rejection or requests for bribes when applying for identity documents. A Bangladeshi passport provides the opportunity to work in the Arabian Gulf and send back remittances like much of Bangladesh’s Bengali-speaking population.

  • Parvin takes a group of women to apply for ID documents. Namati collects data on applications to identify bottlenecks in the system and cases of discrimination. It then makes policy recommendations to the Bangladesh government. Parvin’s work has the potential to benefit up to 300,000 people struggling to gain identity documents
    Nahid Parvin, a paralegal, leads a group of women to a City Corporation office to apply for identity documents. Namati collects data on all of the applications it makes so it can identify bottlenecks in the system, cases of discrimination and so make policy recommendations to the Government of Bangladesh. Parvin’s work has the potential to benefit up to 300,000 people who struggle to claim their identity rights in Bangladesh.

  • Camp residents apply for ID cards in Dhaka. In some city corporation offices, uncooperative officials reject the majority of Urdu-speakers’ cases. In other areas, the process is more reliable. For camp residents younger than mid-40s, Bangladesh is the only country they have ever known
    At a City Corporation Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, applying for identity cards. In some areas, a bad seed in a particular office means the majority of Urdu-speakers’ cases in that area are rejected. In other areas, cases are starting to move through more dependably. Attitudinal shift is the ultimate goal. Anyone younger than their mid-Forties in the camps was not even born at the formation of Bangladesh. They are interested in belonging to the only country they have ever known.

  • Files pile up in a city corporation office. By tracking cases Namati and the Council on Minorities already have better data than the government detailing cases of discrimination and delays in receiving citizenship documents
    Files in the City Corporation Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh. By tracking cases Namati and Council on Minorities already has better data than the Government on when and where Urdu-speakers suffer discrimination and delays in receiving citizenship documents.

  • Parvin walks with Farzana Naz, a young mother from the Urdu-speaking minority. Naz has applied for a passport so she can take a job as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia to support her daughters through the rest of their schooling. Parvin is helping with her case
    Nahid Parvin walks with Farzana Naz, a young mother from the Urdu-speaking minority in Bangladesh. Farzana has applied for a passport so she can take a job as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia to support her daughters through the rest of their schooling. Nahid is helping with her case.
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