How Rohingya refugees are reading Bangladesh’s new government
I have a new reported feature out with DVB English.
It looks at how Rohingya refugees themselves are interpreting Bangladesh’s new government - not through official statements, but through lived experience in the camps.
Speaking to refugees across very different positions, from those who fled multiple times, to those embedded in camp governance structures, to individuals connected to armed networks, the piece shows how hope, fear and strategy coexist.
What emerges is not a single “community view,” but a fragmented political landscape:
Some hope for expanded rights while in exile.
Some fear a return to earlier cycles of coercive repatriation.
Some are already recalculating in light of Bangladesh’s engagement with the Arakan Army.
Others are thinking through the implications of the ICJ case and how even “victory” could be used to accelerate return.
Set against this, diaspora statements present a far more unified and optimistic picture often invoking 1978 and 1992 as precedents. A similar tone is reflected in parts of the internal Rohingya leadership structures facilitated and curated by Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), including the United Council of Rohingya (UCR).
After publication, I realised I had omitted a relevant perspective from within that structure. One of UCR’s presidents, Khin Maung, told me:
“I have optimism about the next government. It depends on our engagement with them. They have a success story on Rohingya refugee repatriation.”
While diaspora organisations and Khin Maung invoke past “successful” repatriations, many refugees recall those same moments very differently. As always, the reality on the ground is more fragmented and more politically aware than is often assumed.
Read here:
Related Reading:
The Rohingya are perennial pawns in Bangladesh’s politics
My essay on the myth of Rohingya “aid dependency” has also been republished by Counterpoint BD. It challenges not just a lazy narrative, but one that serves institutional interests - showing how refugees work, trade and survive despite heavy restrictions. What is framed as dependency is actively produced, structured and maintained.
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