Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees marked nine years since Myanmar’s military crackdown with protests Tuesday as shrinking aid and food rations deepened hardship in Bangladesh’s camps and escalating conflict in Rakhine State kept a safe return out of reach.
More than 1.2 million Rohingya live in about 30 overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, many of them refugees who fled Myanmar during the 2017 crackdown.
In a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the United Council of Rohingya, which organized the rally, said it sought to “remember the atrocities committed” and draw attention to the “ongoing humanitarian crisis.”
Protesters carried placards bearing messages including “Justice for Rohingya, Hope is Home” and “Timely justice is our right.”
Sayed Ullah, president of the group, said refugees were desperate to return home.
“We can’t keep waiting for the international community to facilitate our return. We will do whatever it takes to ensure our safe return home,” said Ullah.
Prospects for repatriation, however, remain uncertain as fighting continues in Myanmar.
Diplomatic missions in Bangladesh said Tuesday that conditions in the country did not allow for the safe return of Rohingya refugees.
“Rohingya refugees have a right to return to their homes in Myanmar,” they said in a joint statement published by the British High Commission in Bangladesh.
“Regrettably, conflict is escalating across Rakhine, and humanitarian need is rising. Deepening insecurity, airstrikes on civilian infrastructure and the Myanmar authorities’ blockades on aid and trade are worsening the humanitarian crisis,” the statement read.
Conditions in the Bangladesh camps have also deteriorated amid funding cuts and reduced food rations, aid agencies said. Children make up more than half of the refugee population.
“An entire generation of children is growing up in exile,” said Golam Mostofa, who heads Save the Children in the camps.
“Yet instead of seeing progress towards safety, rights and a lasting solution, families are facing worsening hunger, fewer opportunities and deepening uncertainty about their future,” he said.
Save the Children said one in three refugees is expected to face “crisis” hunger levels or worse between September and December.
For those who fled Myanmar in 2017, the anniversary brought back memories of the violence that forced them from their homes.
“Beheading our near and dear ones, setting fire to our homes and evicting us from our land — the military occupied our land around nine years ago,” said Sabikunnahar, 32.
“On this day, my heart gets torn apart. Look at my eyes — they are still wet with tears for my country.”
Moulovi Abdus Salam, 41, who arrived in Bangladesh last year, said his family fled after gunmen “raped our women, killed my brothers and looted my shop.”
Salam said food rations in the camps cover “a maximum of 20 days.”
“We don’t want the life of a refugee,” he said. “My request to the international community is to create the conditions for us to return home.”
Sikandar, 75, who arrived in Bangladesh in 2017, said he saw little prospect of a safe return.
“There is no hope for us to return home. There are no realistic plans that can be implemented,” he said.
“It’s hard to live in a camp. None of us is living here comfortably — not a single one of us.”
Bangladesh has said it is overstretched by the refugee population and has called for their dignified return to Myanmar.
The 2017 military crackdown, during which Rohingya villages were burned and civilians killed, is the subject of a genocide case before the United Nations’ top court in The Hague.
