The future looks increasingly bleak for over a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, most of them were forced out of western Myanmar since the recent wave of anti-Rohingya persecution began in 2017, when the military of Myanmar launched merciless onslaught against the Rohingya communities. The head of the UN agency for human rights later referred to the military's conduct as "acts of horrific barbarity," potential "acts of genocide," and "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
Bangladesh, a lower-middle-income country, compelled to assuming enormous amount of her limited resources to meet costs and impacts incurred upon her economy, society and environment, made an example of warmest of hearts and deepest empathy for human suffering by welcoming nearly a million Rohingya refugees.
Stepping into the 7th year, not even a single Rohingya has returned to Myanmar. Bangladesh seems solely carrying the burden of this huge refugee alone. The country is expending US$ 1.22 billion every year for the Rohingyas from her own limited resources. Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar is now hosting the largest refugee camp in the world, with one of the largest humanitarian operations in terms of scale and dimensions.
Additionally, the nation has never received a sizable amount of funding for Rohingya refugees. Instead, the amount of support has decreased with time. While donors only contributed 60% of the required cash in 2020, down from approximately 72% to 75% two years earlier, Bangladesh received roughly 30% until now in 2023 and around 50% in 2022.
Since the international donors now have refugees to care for who resemble them and have sought sanctuary in their affluent European society, the poor and illiterate Rohingya community's suffering is less of a nuisance. The situation in the refugee camps is deteriorating day by day while they ignore the Rohingyas.
The UN was forced to reduce essential food aid by one-third, from $12 to $10 per person per month in March to $8 per person per month by June, indicating that each Rohingya will now only receive $0.27 per day. The rampant malnutrition in the camps would worsen as a result of this decrease, which comes as Bangladesh already faces a crisis of food inflation.
Additionally, some Rohingyas-particularly young men-have joined criminal gangs and armed organizations and engaged in crimes like kidnapping, drug dealing, illegal currency trade, robbery, and gold smuggling, which has fueled the bloodshed. In the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh over the last six years, there have been a total of 186 murders and more than 500 kidnappings.
Many Rohingyas travel by water eastward to Muslim nations like Malaysia and Indonesia in search of safety from this violence and in search for a better life. The number of Rohingya putting their lives in peril by travelling by boat increased by 360%, from 700 to 3,500, according to the U.N. Instead of relying on charity in the refugee camps any longer, these people prefer the danger of being detained, trafficked, seasick, hungry, and lost at sea with no chance of rescue or even drowning.
Public killings, terror, and anxiety are all on the rise in Bangladesh's southern area as a result of growing crime rates. There is increasing hostility towards the Rohingyas. Cox's Bazar people worry that their safety is at jeopardy since the Rohingya population in the area has made them a minority.
The Bangladeshi government has made every effort to resolve each of these problems to the best of their abilities. The camps have changed from being built on scorched ground to having streets resembling towns. Barbed wire fences and security personnel have been installed to improve the security of both the local population and the refugees. In order to alleviate the acute overcrowding in the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, 100,000 people have also been evacuated to the Bhasan Char camps. To support Rohingya refugees, the nation has already spent $1.69 billion USD in 2022 alone. At this point, what else is reasonable to anticipate from it?
Myanmar, the country responsible for the disaster, continues to dodge questions regarding the citizenship of Rohingya refugees while Bangladesh struggles. However, Bangladesh is making an effort to uphold the nonrefoulement principle, which prohibits sending refugees to countries where they might suffer persecution. The international world is busy showering the ruthless Junta administration with FDI-foreign direct investment in Myanmar from 2017 to 2020 was more than that of Bangladesh-instead of taking strong political and legal action against it.
Additionally, they are attempting to exert pressure on Bangladeshi authorities that do not provide justice or protection for Rohingyas. Recently, South China Morning Post's (SCMP) reporter Amy Sood of Indian descent made the false and misleading allegation that Bangladesh is undergoing a "second genocide" against the Rohingya people. Amy should be reminded that when Bangladesh opened its border and provided humanitarian sanctuary to over a million Rohingyas in 2017, India did not accept even one Rohingya.
Despite the immense harm to the local population and the loss of about 6,500 acres of forest and wildlife, Bangladesh has been doing everything in her limits to ensure the safety and well-being of the displaced Rohingyas. However, Bangladesh is unable to house the Rohingyas for a longer period due to her impact on economy, high population density, and national security concerns.
In order to return them to Myanmar, where they were born, the regional and international actors must play vital roles in ensuring their safety, respect, and legal standing. We cannot let over a million Rohingya refugees down since helping them is our top humanitarian responsibility.
The writer is an Associate Professor
