Social cohesion: When food offers an occasion for bonding
Dried fish create an unlikely bridge between Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals
Have you ever heard of any food that has the taste of togetherness? The dried fish produced in Cox’s Bazar is one such food that tightens the bond between Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh and their host community.
Dried Ribbonfish, locally known as Chhuri Shutki, is a delicacy in the coastal Cox’s Bazar region. It’s caught and produced locally and sold at markets around the district.
When hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh from neighbouring Myanmar in 2017, there was fear that the influx and the humanitarian response could decimate local markets and drive up food prices. Through a number of innovative approaches, food assistance for the refugees has instead become a boon for local businesses like those producing dried fish.
“It’s a big achievement for me to stand by the helpless people like the Rohingya refugees,” says Rahim, a fisherman. With seven members in his family, Rahim relies on fishing in the deep sea to earn his bread and butter. Dried fish is a favourite in Rohingya food culture and Rahim is able to sell his stock through the World Food Programme’s e-voucher outlets which serve 97 percent of Rohingya refugees living in camps. His earnings have increased in the past few years.
His earning helps him pay for the school fees for his two children. “I want one of them to be a doctor and the other an engineer,” says Rahim, for whom every dollar earned represents a step toward fulfilling his dream and that of his children.
From Sea to Shop
Ribbonfish are collected from designated fishing boats that are sent into the Bay of Bengal. It takes up to seven days for the fishermen to collect the fish. After the boats reach the shore, they are collected from a point called Fishery Ghat. The best ones are separated and are brought to the factory where the fish are thoroughly washed before being processed.
Then they are sent to the Fish Driers to dry in sunlight at 30 Celsius leaving no minimum risk of contamination by insects. After drying, they are packed and kept in cold storage. Once an order is placed by WFP, they are then packaged and delivered to the e-voucher outlets in the refugee camps.
Business that Gives Back
Mukul, a scientist from another part of the country, set up a dried fish factory in Cox’s Bazar to meet the demand from the refugee camps. He started producing this high-protein fish in a chemical-free and organic way. After being trained on how to process the fish, 30 people from the host community work in this factory and receive employee benefits including medical insurance in addition to their salary. Over time the business has created many job opportunities for the local population.
Halima is one of them. The earning she makes by working in one of the factories has brought many changes in her life. She can now help pay for her children’s education together with her husband, which has given her the confidence to be part of her family’s decision-making process, and brought her admirations from the members of her community for being a self-reliant woman.
“I am very happy to be self-reliant,” she says. “We are happy to support the refugees and also want to do good for ourselves and our community.” Knowing that the Rohingya families like the dried fish that she helped to produce, she happily reflects, “it brings me peace of mind which is invaluable.”
A Shared Taste of Home
Mohammed Ali is a young Rohingya. For him, the dried fish, especially the dried Ribbonfish is a mouth-watering dish that reminds him of his days in Myanmar where they used to eat a special salad made of dried fish, dried chili and onion.
His favourite dish is a special salad made of dried fish, dried chili and onion, which was also a very popular dish for his people back in Myanmar.
“On behalf of my community, I would like to thank WFP and the people who produce these dried fish for us,” says Ali. He is now working as a communications volunteer for WFP, helping his community to stay safe amidst the COVID-19 pandemic by spreading correct information.
WFP’s e-voucher outlets serve locally procured fresh and staple foods to over 860,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The e-voucher programme is supported by donors including Australia, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
