Fearing repatriation to Myanmar, a country that denies them citizenship, and without offers for third-country resettlement, 21,600 Rohingya refugees endure
malnutrition, confinement, abuse and neglect in Bangladesh, their country of refuge. In March 2002, MSF published a report calling for solutions that protect
the Rohingyas and respect their dignity and rights. Following is a summary of the report, "Ten Years for the Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: Past, Present
and Future." Click here to read the full report, together with personal testimonies from some of the refugees.

Rohingya refugee family at
Nayapara camp. Jalil, the
young boy sitting in his
mother's lap, suffers from
malaria. © Petterik Wiggers. |
Discrimination, violence, religious intolerance and
forced labor practices by the authorities in Myanmar
(Burma) triggered an exodus of more than 250,000
Rohingya people from Rakhine (Arakan) state in
Myanmar to Bangladesh between mid-1991 and early
1992. Since 1992, approximately 232,000 of the
refugees have been returned to Myanmar under a
repatriation program supervised by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Today, more than 21,600 of them remain in two
camps south of Cox's Bazaar.
In 1992, the Bangladeshi government welcomed the
refugees and settled them in 20 camps with the
notion that their stay was short-term. Now, ten years
later, the Rohingyas continue to live in temporary,
emergency-like conditions that are substandard and
unhealthy. Prohibited from leaving the camp freely,
the refugees remain confined to overcrowded, tight
spaces, with insufficient water, inadequate shelter
and few educational opportunities. They are not
allowed to work or farm, nor are they provided sufficient
food to feed their families. As a result, 58% of
the refugee children and 53% of the adults were suffering
from chronic malnutrition at the end of 2001.
I was born in Burma, but the Burmese government says
I don't belong there. I grew up in Bangladesh, but the
Bangladesh government says I cannot stay here. As a
Rohingya, I feel I am caught between a crocodile and a
snake.
– 19-year-old male refugee, Nayapara camp |
Throughout their decade of exile, the Rohingyas
have confronted waves of aggression and coercion in
their land of refuge. Many have been sent back to
Myanmar against their will, in violation of the principle of voluntary repatriation. While incidents
of forced repatriation have declined in recent years,
violence and intimidation by camp officials persist.
Although refugees have three possible solutions
to their situation – repatriation, integration in the
host country and resettlement in a third country –
the Rohingya refugees do not seem to be given a
choice. The UNHCR promotes repatriation as the
most optimal solution, contending that the security
situation in Rakhine state is stable and conducive to
their safe return. But human rights reports, witness
accounts and testimonies from newly arriving
Rohingyas state that the situation has not improved.
As a result, many refugees are unwilling to repatriate.
The Bangladeshi government does not support local
integration of the remaining refugees, and the international
community has not yet expressed an interest
in resettling them in "third" countries.
Unwanted in their land of birth, and no longer
welcomed in their land of refuge, the Rohingya
refugees face an uncertain future. Until a political
breakthrough is achieved, intermediate and longterm
solutions must be sought for those refugees
unwilling to return to Myanmar. The living conditions
of the refugees and the safety and security in the
camps need to be improved. The refugees need to be
viewed not as a burden or "residual caseload," but as
human beings, with hopes, voices and rights.
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