National


Refugee Mir Ahmad, 60, in Cox's Bazar. Photo: Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera

Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh — None of the more than 900,000 Rohingya who over the last year have fled a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar army, described by the United Nations as "textbook ethnic cleansing,” have returned from Bangladesh under a repatriation deal the two countries signed last November.

What they’re saying: For many of the Rohingya, who are not recognized by Myanmar as an ethnic group and are denied citizenship and government services, this was not the first time they had forcibly left their homes. Many now living refugee camps tell Al Jazeera they will not return unless their demands — including citizenship, greater inclusivity in government services such as education and the workforce, the ensuring of security and safety, and reparations for all that they have lost — are met.

Hujjatul Islam, 12: "I was in Year Three in school when I was in Rakhine. Now I can't find a proper school here except for the madrasahs where we learn the Quran. I haven't heard of any repatriation deal. I'll go back if we have Rohingya recognition. We would much rather die here if Myanmar forces us to go back without granting us citizenship."

Mahmud Yunis, 35: "I have no demands. I want to go back to my village without any compensation or conditions. I used to be a porter. Now I do nothing. Every day I face many difficulties just to get food. I am dependent on aid. There are also hygiene problems, such as the lack of sanitary latrines."

Dildar Begam, 35: "I have nine children and a husband. It took us two days to reach Cox's Bazar. I saw so many massacres, rapes, and homes set on fire. I haven't heard of the repatriation deal. I would only go back if Myanmar granted us Rohingya recognition. I don't feel good here because this is not my land."

Mir Ahmad, 60: "I am willing to go back to Rakhine if the Myanmar government meets our demands, such as compensation and recognizing us as citizens. Here I can get food and shelter. I feel better here than in my own village because there's more security. But I want to return to Fukira Bazar because there, I can live in dignity."

Go deeper: Read the full Al Jazeera report.

Rohingya refugees long to return home but fear what they'd find there

"We would rather die here if Myanmar forces us to go back without citizenship"

World

Rohingya people

Top Stories

<figure><img alt="" height="399" id="f492e02f-c13f-4ec7-b0c6-054c57ef75c6" src="https://images.axios.com/IdSWNwfR-dssqS0SJXaToQSEuBo=/2018/08/27/1535393828485.png" width="712"/><figcaption> Refugee Mir Ahmad, 60, in Cox&#x27;s Bazar. Photo: Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera</figcaption></figure>Cox&#x27;s Bazar, Bangladesh — None of the more than 900,000 Rohingya who over the last year have fled a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar army, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="described by the United Nations as &quot;textbook ethnic cleansing,”" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/myanmar-united-nations-report-genocide-facebook-318a1abb-6328-4cc4-9948-abfae1b1fa11.html" data-vars-content-id="06b9aa99-3743-40e7-8125-cd3814fd4518" data-vars-headline="Rohingya refugees long to return home but fear what they&#x27;d find there" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/myanmar-united-nations-report-genocide-facebook-318a1abb-6328-4cc4-9948-abfae1b1fa11.html" target="_self">described by the United Nations as &quot;textbook ethnic cleansing,”</a> have returned from Bangladesh under a repatriation deal the two countries signed last November.What they’re saying: For many of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Rohingya" data-vars-click-url="https://www.aljazeera.com/topics/subjects/rohingya.html" data-vars-content-id="06b9aa99-3743-40e7-8125-cd3814fd4518" data-vars-headline="Rohingya refugees long to return home but fear what they&#x27;d find there" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/topics/subjects/rohingya.html" target="_blank">Rohingya</a>, who are not recognized by <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Myanmar" data-vars-click-url="https://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/myanmar.html" data-vars-content-id="06b9aa99-3743-40e7-8125-cd3814fd4518" data-vars-headline="Rohingya refugees long to return home but fear what they&#x27;d find there" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/myanmar.html" target="_blank">Myanmar</a> as an ethnic group and are denied citizenship and government services, this was not the first time they had forcibly left their homes. Many now living refugee camps tell Al Jazeera they will not return unless their demands — including citizenship, greater inclusivity in government services such as education and the workforce, the ensuring of security and safety, and reparations for all that they have lost — are met.

Children on the bridge separating the camp from Bangladesh. Photo: Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera

Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh — Of the more than 700,000 Rohingya forced from their homes in Myanmar, 4,600 are stranded in bleak conditions at a camp in no-man's land on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, known to locals as Zero Point.

The bigger picture: Many Rohingya, a majority-Muslim ethnic group often described as "the world's most persecuted minority,” now live in limbo. Residents of Zero Point have not been given refugee status, as the area in which they have been sheltering for almost a year now is officially under Myanmar control — but a fortified border fence rigged with landmines makes a return to their villages in Rakhine state an impossible mission.

Twice a month, a team from the International Committee for the Red Cross arrives here with provisions. Under the watchful eye of the Bangladesh Border Guards (BGB), the Rohingya are allowed to cross a newly-built wooden bridge to pick up the aid items and carry out their frugal shopping, before returning to the camp on the other side.

This is the third time Nur al-Amin, who used to own paddy fields in Myanmar, has experienced displacement. The first was in 1978, when he was still a child and had to spent a year at a refugee camp in Bangladesh after escaping anti-Rohingya violence by Myanmar's authorities. Then in 1992, he was forced to flee for a second time and ended up living as a refugee for eight years.

"There is no work here and nothing to do," he says of life in the camp. "I wake up at dawn to pray, I read Quran, I take naps, I wait for the aid agencies to come.”

The bottom line: "When we first arrived, we thought that after a few days we would return back to our homeland," says Dil Muhammad, the Rohingya camp leader. "One year has passed, and there has been no solution. The UN has failed us."

Displaced Rohingya lament life in no-man's land

Nowhere to go and nothing to do but survive

Myanmar

<figure><img alt="" height="400" id="db06c97e-7091-47ac-9b0f-4e900f91a604" src="https://images.axios.com/dJ0FsGeXDdd9HJywvxW9bHMhP40=/2018/08/06/1533575266862.png" width="714"/><figcaption>Children on the bridge separating the camp from Bangladesh. Photo: Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera</figcaption></figure>Cox&#x27;s Bazar, Bangladesh — Of the more than 700,000 Rohingya forced from their homes in Myanmar, 4,600 are stranded in bleak conditions at a camp in no-man&#x27;s land on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, known to locals as Zero Point.The bigger picture: Many Rohingya, a majority-Muslim ethnic group often described as &quot;the world&#x27;s most persecuted minority,” now live in limbo. Residents of Zero Point have not been given refugee status, as the area in which they have been sheltering for almost a year now is officially under Myanmar control — but a fortified border fence rigged with landmines makes a return to their villages in Rakhine state an impossible mission.

Linah Alsaafin of Al Jazeera

Stories

Rohingya refugees long to return home but fear what they'd find there

Displaced Rohingya lament life in no-man's land