A right of return is the only solution for Rohingya Muslims
The Bangladeshi government's decision to relocate 100,000 Rohingya refugees to an island in the Bay of the Bengal is an understandable, but regrettable short term solution.
Recent years have not been good to refugees. The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, estimates current numbers at 26 million. In the Middle East and the West, people most often see images of the crisis unfolding in the Mediterranean. The Rohingya crisis, currently playing out in Myanmar and Bangladesh, seems more distant. But it is no less tragic.
In August 2017, after a military crackdown, an estimated 750,000 Rohingya Muslims, a minority group in Myanmar, fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. There are now just under one million refugees in camps around the town of Cox’s Bazar, on the south-eastern coast of the country.
Bangladesh, a nation with many economic challenges of its own, has shown remarkable compassion in accommodating this wave of migration. But the situation around Cox’s Bazar is unsustainable.
Bangladesh is accommodating over one million Rohingya Muslims in packed refugee camps around the town of Cox's Bazaar. AFP
the correct long-term solution is a right of return for Rohingya refugees to their homelands in Myanmar
To alleviate the crisis, the Bangladeshi government has prepared Bhasan Char, a silt island that emerged after a dredging project, for habitation.
The government aims to relocate 100,000 Rohingya refugees there. Last Thursday, the Bangladeshi navy took the first round of 1,500 inhabitants to the island.
Various international bodies have expressed concern about the plan, however. The government says relocations will be voluntary but the UN says Rohingya are “distressed” at the proposals, and some say refugees are under pressured to move. It said life on the island must include rights, essential services, freedom of movement and jobs. Providing this on an uninhabited island will be difficult.
The correct long-term solution is a right of return for Rohingya refugees to their homelands in Myanmar. The current political situation there makes this unlikely any time soon.
However, an opportunity for a solution might be emerging. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy party won parliamentary elections in November. Although she must still share power with the military, with the dust of the elections having settled, Ms Suu Kyi is likely to have the political capital to make amends to the Rohingya refugees who want to return but fear for their safety upon doing so.
So far, international calls for a solution to the crisis have been ineffective. But US President-elect Joe Biden, who was an integral part of the Obama administration that was largely responsible for efforts to open up Myanmar in 2009, should revisit the issue and push for refugee rights. Mr Biden has, after all, promised to make human rights the centre-piece of US foreign policy when he becomes president.
International criticism of Ms Suu Kyi’s record in office often focuses on the fact she had previously been lauded as an advocate for peace. Many years of campaigning against military dictatorship forced her into house arrest for 15 years. This won her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
It is hard to govern a country that had been isolated and under authoritarian rule for decades. But no context justifies the creation of yet another refugee crisis. Ms Suu Kyi could quickly regain international respect by pursuing a long-term solution for the Rohingya. By doing this, she could recapture the spirit of her peace prize. She could also win the rare accolade in today’s world of being a leader prepared seize the initiative on refugee rights.
Most importantly, the Rohingya will have the chance to return to the place they have for centuries called home.
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm. Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59') Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
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