PayPal blocks Rohingya refugee fund, then donates

By Malachy Browne. Photo: Andrew Day.

Activists who raised funds to deliver urgent aid to Rohingya Muslim refugees living in Bangladesh had their account blocked on Friday, March 13 by PayPal for “security reasons”. PayPal later reinstated the account, making a donation to help reach the fundraising goal. While the aid workers may now withdraw their funds, PayPal will no longer accept donations made to the account.

Speaking to Reported.ly from Bangladesh via Google Hangout, one of the aid workers, Newfoundlander Andrew Day, outlined the crisis facing the Rohingya. Tens of thousands live in makeshift camps along the marshy border with Burma without access to clean water or medical supplies. Eight children died this week from dysentery and medical problems arising from drinking unclean water, Day said.

One of the aid workers, Liz, who tweets under @theangelwinks and is delivering aid with Andrew Day, told Reported.ly that they withdrew $900 to deliver clean water on Friday. They planned to use the $2,600 balance to deliver more water and oral rehydration packs next week.

Day and other activists despaired at PayPal’s actions.

Response by Jamila Hanan, a UK-based activist supporting Day’s work. Reported.ly interviewed her on Thursday with Day.

‘Hacktivist’ group Anonymous also weighed in.

After several hours, a PayPal representative spoke to the account holder. PayPay said that the fundraising effort contravenes PayPal guidelines in Singapore, where the account is registered. The guidelines require the account to be linked to a US-registered charity. Being hosted by the YouCaring.com was not sufficient. The balance on the account was less than $3,000.

Reported.ly lodged a query with PayPal. A representative from the company’s EMEA headquarters in Ireland telephoned to say he would raise the matter with someone “as senior as possible” in corporate communications to see if it could be resolved.

An hour or so later, Liz received an email from PayPal apologizing for the inconvenience. PayPal promised to add $1,544.00 to the account to “help reach [their] fundraising goal of $5,000".

However, the account will not accept further donations and will ultimately be shut down. Liz told Reported.ly she is seeking a “better platform”.

The aid workers succeeded in delivering clean water to one of the camps on Friday.

And on previous aid missions.

Funds being channeled through an unregistered group rightly raise concerns. Indeed, I put the question of accountability to Andrew Day and activist Jamila Hanan during our interview over Google Hangout on Thursday (before the account was blocked). They say they keep receipts and publish accounts. They operate in an individual capacity and are transparent with donors about the nature of the work the money supports. They say they don’t take a salary; judging by the $3,500 or so raised to date, it’s clear their work is certainly not exploitation for personal gain. And working in an aid vacuum where Bangladeshi authorities have banned international organizations from operating, Day and Liz need to operate discreetly; indeed, taking risks, as do their partners, to deliver aid.

Photos of the make-shift camps erected by Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh by Andrew Day. Photos of malnourished children provided by Rohingya camp residents.

Who are the Rohingya Muslims?

Rohingya Muslims are one of the most persecuted races. A population of 1.3 million, they are stateless residents of Burma (Myanmar), stripped of their citizenship in 1982 under military rule amid claims that they are not natively Burmese. An attempt to granted Rohingya voting rights in 2015 was swiftly reversed following protests.

February 2015 video filmed by aid workers at a make shift camp in Bangladesh.

Repeated bouts of sectarian violence have forced tens of thousands to flee across the border with Bangladesh and into Thailand. Some 30,000 registered refugees have lived along Cox’s Bazaar since the 1990s. A surge in sectarian violence in 2012 displaced 110,000 according to the UN, forcing tens of thousands more across the border. Bangladeshi authorities say 300,000 now live within its borders.

A video montage by Reported.ly of videos documenting the surge in violence, some of it supported by security forces, against Rohingya Muslims in 2012 leading to a mass displacement and exodus.

Now the Rohingya face persecution in Bangladesh, with authorities banning international aid organizations from assisting because their work would “encourage” more would-be refugees. Rohingya have sometimes been targeted by local Bangladeshis, with one camp being raided recently and random incidents of violence recorded.

Day and others work informally with local partners, circumventing bureaucracy, and sometimes in conjunction with organizations.

Below is Reported.ly’s interview with Day and Hanan about the Rohingya, the conditions they face and their work. Hanan introduces who the Rohingya Muslims are, Day talks about conditions at the camps and his work, and Hanan later gives insight into government-sponsored persecution of Rohingya. (Begins at around 90 seconds)

Correction: The first draft incorrectly referred to the group as a charity. As outlined, they operate in an individual capacity.