“I May Be Killed Any Moment” 55 services for newly arriving Rohingya refugees fleeing atrocity crimes in Myanmar.275 The transit centers in Bangladesh, including the main center that opened in October 2017, now holds an untold number of Rohingya who are living there indefinitely due to continuing security concerns in the camps. Fortify Rights spoke with Rohingya refugees currently living in and who spent time in the transit centers. Residents and former residents of the transit centers reported experiencing protection concerns, overcrowding, inadequate access to basic resources, and restrictions on movement and contact with family members in the transit centers.276 For example, a Rohingya human rights defender residing in the main transit center told Fortify Rights how four or five RSO members broke into the transit center on March 27, 2024 and found him. He said: [The RSO members] came inside on March 27, [2024]. One member had a gun. He had a pistol when he was talking to me. I could see it. One of the RSO men told me, “You have to come with me.” They brought me to the RSO members at the back of the transit center. They kept telling me, “You have to work with us.” They said, “If you don’t work or give us money, we will kidnap you.”277 On April 1, 2024, the man wrote an appeal letter outlining the incident to the UNHCR office in Cox’s Bazar. The letter, which is on file with Fortify Rights, reads: “I am not safe totally inside the Transit Center. … RSO members [are threatening to kill me].”278 The letter also urges “UNHCR to investigate the matter.”279 Recalling his interaction with a UNHCR protection officer following the incident, the man said: UNHCR staff is not available. I told the UNHCR staff, “I am not feeling safe here in the transit center.” I asked him, “Please give me security here.” He told me, “My boss is not responding to me.” He told me, “Send me the details about your threat in WhatsApp, and I will send them to my boss.” … Still, UNHCR has yet to respond [after months].280 More than two weeks after submitting the appeal letter to UNHCR, the man told Fortify Rights: “The armed group of RSO members is still threatening me.”281 A Rohingya refugee community leader living in a transit center for more than four months also told Fortify Rights about the lack of information from UNHCR. He said: I have not received any information from UNHCR regarding the duration of my stay and the measures [UNHCR] are taking to ensure my safety. ... It would be beneficial for UNHCR to ensure the safety of vulnerable individuals, such as myself, by implementing measures to prevent criminals from approaching us or hiring individuals [who may] harm us [in the transit center]. ... Additionally, the transit center’s fence is currently broken.282 The man also said: “[I]t is not easy to talk to those who are protection focal [officers] of UNHCR here [in the transit center].”283 275 UNHCR, “Bangladesh: Thousands of New Arrivals Assisted at Transit Centre, Camp,” October 20, 2017, https:// www.unhcr.org/ph/12830-bangladesh-thousands-new-arrivals-assisted-transit-centre-camp.html. UNHCR, “Bangladesh Refugee Emergency: Transit Centre Factsheet,” December 2018. 276 See, for example, Fortify Rights interview with I.D., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, April 16, 2024; Fortify Rights interview with Z.G., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, November 19, 2022; Fortify Rights interview with A.D., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, September 19, 2022. 277 Fortify Rights interview with I.D., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, April 16, 2024. 278 Appeal letter to UNHCR on file with Fortify Rights, April 1, 2024. 279 Ibid. 280 Fortify Rights interview with I.D., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, April 16, 2024. 281 Ibid. 282 Fortify Rights interview and communication with Z.D., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, March 11, 2023. 283 Fortify Rights follow-up communication with Z.D., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, May 19, 2023.