The Rohingya crisis, one of the most critical humanitarian crises of the twenty-first century, has severely strained Bangladesh. Despite its many difficulties, Bangladesh has shown sympathy by opening its borders and offering refugees asylum. Maintaining such a large refugee group increasingly challenges Bangladesh's ability. However, this has received minimal specific political action from the global arena. The crisis increases Bangladesh's long-term reliance risk, strains its economy, and causes social conflicts between refugees and host populations. Besides the failure of law and order situations and environmental degradation, the country faces severe crises in diplomatic relations with many states. An urgent measure has been expected from the global community since the beginning. However, even after more than seven years, the world leaders could not provide any practical solution to the Rohingya refugee problem. This raises an essential question: how far has global commitment gone in addressing this crisis and supporting Bangladesh?
Forced migration has become a predominant topic in daily discourse. With time, the number of forcibly displaced people is rising. In 2012, the number of forcibly displaced persons was about 42.7 million. However, this figure has significantly increased, reaching 117.3 million in 2023, approximately thrice higher in a decade. The UNHCR predicts that more than 130 million individuals will face forced displacement by the end of 2024. According to Concern Worldwide US, a new displacement occurs every two seconds. Among the forced migrated refugees, the Rohingyas from Myanmar, one of the largest refugee groups currently residing in Bangladesh, pose a significant threat to the country in various critical aspects.
The Rohingyas have migrated to neighboring Bangladesh over many decades owing to persecution and have placed an unequal burden on Bangladesh's limited resources. The crisis has its roots deep in history. For the allegation of British spies, Burmese nationalist forces and Japanese soldiers jointly launched a killing operation named the '1942 massacre' that killed more than 100,000 Rohingyas, and almost 500,000 people sought asylum in British-controlled India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malay, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Later, they lost their citizenship and constitutional rights after General Ne Win took power in 1962. His eviction operation countrywide forced over 20,000 Rohingya refugees to leave the country and take shelter in Cox's Bazar of Bangladesh. The Rohingya have been significantly leaving Myanmar for Bangladesh since the 1970s. That means Bangladesh has been facing this refugee crisis since its independence. After the 2017 military-led crackdown, the situation has been more critical. Bangladesh now hosts over one million Rohingya refugees, making it one of the largest refugee groups worldwide.
The Rohingya refugees are in a dire situation. The inadequately built shelter camps provide little protection from heavy rainfalls, floods and cyclones. The United Nations standardizes that refugee camps must offer a minimum dwelling space of 45 square meters per individual. However, only a limited number of camps in Cox's Bazar meet these criteria since the majority lack sufficient space, averaging 29 square meters, with Camp 3 being the most densely crowded at less than 12 square meters. The UNHCR has established standards that mandate a maximum of 20 individuals to share a bathroom during the initial emergency phase of a camp. It recommends providing a single toilet for a family of 4 to 6 individuals for extended periods. Nonetheless, the majority of the camps are now running into violating UN standards. Dengue fever and other ailments, such as waterborne illnesses and skin infections, are prevalent due to inadequate hygiene practices and limited access to clean water and sanitation services.
The Rohingyas have migrated to
neighboring Bangladesh over many decades owing to
persecution and have placed an
unequal burden on Bangladesh's limited resources
The refugee crisis has significantly jeopardized the law and order situation in Bangladesh. Furthermore, it has exacerbated tensions concerning several security issues, including human trafficking, food and livelihood stability, internal and transnational security, border integrity and environmental safety. Approximately 572 hectares of woodland were deforested to create camps. Furthermore, the geographical proximity of Bangladesh to the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent serves as a potential conduit for drug trafficking. International criminal organizations use Rohingya people as couriers for the illicit trade of drugs and small firearms. This intensifies the tensions between Bangladesh and other nations, severely impacting Bangladesh's global labor market, remittances and bilateral relations. A large number of unregistered Rohingyas have moved to the Middle East with fake Bangladeshi passports or identity cards. They sought to impersonate Bangladeshi nationals and participated in several illegal actions, thus affecting Bangladesh's image on the global platform. Recently, about 140 Rohingya, headed to reach Malaysia, were stranded off Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh. Besides, sex trafficking has increased in refugee camps as organized criminal syndicates take advantage of the chaos and social instability to establish markets.
The refugees are creating pressure on Bangladesh's limited resources. Bangladesh's government started relocating a minimum of one lakh Rohingyas to Bhasan Char, a newly established island in the Bay of Bengal adjacent to the Meghna River's entrance in Hatia Upazila, Noakhali district. This is under the Ashrayan-3 Project, and its objective is to alleviate the burden on the Ukhia-Teknaf shelter camp in Cox's Bazar. The first phase relocated 1,642 Rohingyas there on December 4, 2020. On March 1, 2024, the total number of Rohingyas in Bhasan Char surpassed 36,000, with the transfer of an additional 1,242 Rohingyas in the 24th phase. The project had an expenditure of Tk 3095 crore from government funding. Without a doubt, 3095 crore Tk is a considerable amount for Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government has raised concerns about the crisis from the very beginning. It has sought international assistance to address the situation. The GoB has signed many bilateral and multilateral agreements with Myanmar and other countries facilitated by the United Nations. The United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, the European Union and others have actively participated in the political discourse surrounding the Rohingya crisis. They also emphasize safe, voluntary and minimally intrusive returns. Yet, a permanent solution remains faded.
SAARC, as a regional cooperation organization, has failed to help Bangladesh resolve the crisis. Due to mistrust and lack of collaboration among its member states, SAARC has been inactive for decades. On the contrary, ASEAN has been proactively involved in diplomatic initiatives to apply timely pressure on Myanmar to provide safe and voluntary return conditions. Nonetheless, ASEAN follows a policy of non-intervention, leading to limited pressure on Myanmar.
Md Shihab Uddin is a researcher and columnist. He can be reached at shihab.stu2017@juniv.edu
