Some Rohingya refugees who fled from Myanmar are finding work in the fishing industry in neighboring Bangladesh, earning a tiny daily income and occasional share of the catch, all under the official radar.

The Shamlapur refugee camp, near a fishing colony on one of the world’s longest beaches, is home to about 10,000 Rohingya refugees, aid groups say, many driven out of Myanmar’s Rakhine State by sectarian violence last year.

"We saved our lives by escaping here, so we are happy to be here,” said Mohammed Yosuf, 20, who works as a fisherman, earning about 200 or 300 taka ($1.20 to $3.60) for each five-day trip.

Yosuf said he fled with his wife, Sobora Khatun, who was nine months’ pregnant when they escaped after two months shackled in captivity. Their three-year-old son drowned in a river crossing, but baby daughter Rukia was born safely.

They are among nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled a military crackdown, the United Nations and human rights groups say, almost all of them winding up in makeshift camps around the southern district of Cox’s Bazar.

Although the refugees cannot work legally, some find jobs on fishing boats or help push them out to sea. The vessels are similar to the craft that carried thousands of Rohingya across the waters to Bangladesh.

Others in the camp earn money by shattering ice blocks to preserve the catch in the searing heat, mending nets or repairing boats.

Two in five Rohingyas depend on a family member with an informal job in Shamlapur, while one in 20 rely on financial assistance from a family member abroad, a survey by migration research group the Exchange Foundation shows.

"Rohingyas in Shamlapur are mostly living in makeshift accommodation and are only occasionally engaged in (illegal and seasonal) gainful employment,” the group said in March.

Agencies