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‘Life is dead’: Rohingya have little cause to celebrate
Jamaleda says she and other members of the Rohingya community wanted to celebrate World Refugee Day on Sunday (June 20).But they can’t.The refugee camps where they live are under lockdown.It’s just another reason why people who live here, having fled brutality in their home country Myanmar, have little to look forward to.”We want to go back to our country,” she says, “how can we go back?”The Rohingya are a Muslim minority group – most of whom were denied citizenship in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, even though some can trace their roots in the country back centuries.Nearly one million live here in Cox’s Bazar having fled a military crackdown in Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh, nearly four years ago.It is the world’s largest refugee settlement.But for Shekufa Begum, it is a graveyard.”Our life is finished, our life is dead. Now we are not thinking about ourselves just thinking about our future generation very much. I have two daughters and a son. My first baby was four years old when I came to Bangladesh. As yet there is no chance of an education for her. Why can’t my children go to school, what will be their future be – what about other Rohingya children in the camps here?”Many Rohingyas say the global health crisis has diminished international concern over their situation.Bangladesh is keen to see them return to Myanmar, but following a military coup in February there has been little sign of progress in talks with Myanmar’s junta.That leaves Rohingya refugees with little certainty over their future and little cause to celebrate on World Refugee Day.
