In squalid camps in Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, who have fled violence and persecution in neighbouring Myanmar dream of a better life abroad — and rely on increasingly high-tech trafficking networks to get them there.
Dhaka denies new arrivals refugee status and, after a major crackdown sealed off the ocean routes traditionally used to traffic migrants to Southeast Asia, many Rohingya are turning to complex smuggling operations to escape Bangladesh. “People are desperate to leave the camps,” said community leader Mohammad Idris.
“Those who have money or gold ornaments are paying smugglers to get them out by air, and those who don’t are trying roads.”