Bangladesh Must Do More to Help the Rohingya

By Emily Thompson

The long-persecuted Rohingya may finally see some respite.

Muhammad Yunus, the interim leader of Bangladesh, has delivered his first major government policy address in which he promised to support the Rohingya community seeking refuge in the country and maintain Bangladesh’s garment trade.

Bangladesh is home to about one million Rohingya. Most of them fled neighboring Myanmar in 2017 after a military crackdown now the subject of a genocide investigation by a United Nations court.

Despite living in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state for many generations, the Rohingya have been denied citizenship by the government, rendering them stateless and limiting their access to education, health care and freedom of movement.

In recent years, the situation in Rakhine has worsened, prompting widespread migration to Bangladesh as the Rohingya fled atrocities committed by the Myanmar military. The height of the exodus occurred last year, after the military launched a crackdown that drove more than 700,000 Rohingya across the Naf River, which serves as a geographic border between southern Bangladesh and northern Myanmar.

In Cox’s Bazar, about five hours south of Chittagong, around 900,000 Rohingya refugees live in camps that were quickly set up to shelter families fleeing violence. Outside the camps, the situation is less clear. Rohingya activists estimate that approximately 50,000 Rohingya are living in Chittagong, working illegally in various sectors such as apparel manufacturing, fishing, construction, and domestic work. However, the actual number is likely higher, as many Rohingya live in hiding to avoid arrest.

Addressing diplomats and UN representatives on Sunday, Yunus assured that his government “will continue to support the million-plus Rohingya people sheltered in Bangladesh.”

According to an Al-Jazeera report, Yunus said, “We need the sustained efforts of the international community for Rohingya humanitarian operations and their eventual repatriation to their homeland, Myanmar, with safety, dignity and full rights.”

Yunus, an 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist, returned from Europe this month after he was picked by President Mohammed Shahabuddin to lead an interim government, fulfilling a key demand of the student protest leaders.

More than 450 people were killed between the start of a police crackdown on student protests and Shahabuddin’s ouster three weeks later.

“The Sheikh Hasina dictatorship destroyed every institution of the country,” Yunus said.

He added that his administration would “make sincere efforts to promote national reconciliation.”

Earlier this month, medical charity Doctors without Borders said that more Rohingya are arriving in Bangladesh from Myanmar with war-related injuries amid escalating conflict between the military and the rebel Arakan Army (AA) in western Rakhine State.

More than 40 percent of the injured were women and children, it added in a statement.

This hurts the Rohingya on many levels, but first and foremost prevents them from attaining a livelihood.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, members of the Rohingya group secretly work in the nation's apparel sector — but hide their true origins.

Bangladesh’s 3,500 garment factories are of core component of the country’s economy.

The country’s textile manufacturing market size is estimated at USD 19.04 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 25.25 billion by 2029, according to at least one market analysis.

The textile sector contributes more than 13% of Bangladesh's GDP. Over 84% of the export earnings come from textiles and textile-related products.

Since the Rohingya rely heavily on the country’s textile manufacturing sector for their livelihood, the government can and should work to alleviate their conditions
and assist them in integrating into the workplace without having to hide their
identity.

The Rohingya deserve freedom like anyone else on our planet and Bangladesh’s government should work to ensure they live in safety and security, free from any threat or danger until they can be repatriated to their home country.

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