Seeking Refuge: The Plight of Rohingyas

As an increasing number of Rohingya flee Myanmar to escape the Burmese military's mass genocide, safe havens in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia are becoming overcrowded.

Refugee camps are overpopulated, undersupplied (food and clean water), and frequently placed in places prone to fires, landslides, and other hazards. In early January, a fire swept Cox Bazar, leaving 7,000 refugees homeless once again. The Rohingya refugees have been stripped of their life and are living in terror, wondering if they will be able to eat the following day. Over the last year, the amount spent on one Rohingya refugee has reduced from $12 to $8 per month. Not only has the cost of food fallen, but so has the amount of nutrition required to support their bodies. The Rohingya's lack of food has sparked outrage in these camps.

There has been an upsurge in violent attacks on one another for food, parents have been caught skipping meals to ensure that their children receive the proper nutrition, and around 12,000 children and pregnant/postpartum women have been identified as extremely malnourished. As camps expand beyond capacity limitations, reports of abuse, sexual assault, underage marriages, and people trafficking have risen dramatically. Young Rohingya men and women are being sold for their bodies after fleeing Myanmar, losing their sense of self-worth and significance. There are small hotels scattered around the camps that provide rooms for traffickers to take the Rohingya for sex work, but officials are doing nothing to prohibit such activities. Al Jazeera reported in late 2017 that Rohingya women and girls were being sold as sex slaves in Cox's Bazar.

Kids have had a particularly difficult time in these housing units. They are not obtaining a suitable education for their futures, are adopting violent behaviors from aggressive breakouts, and are in danger of developing serious health problems as a result of both physical and emotional stress. Growing up in such surroundings is damaging to these children's well-being. They have spent most of their life without a childhood and struggle to get by each day.

In addition, 2023 was the deadliest year in the previous nine years in terms of Rohingya deaths and disappearances at sea, with approximately 569 lives lost. Even after completing the dangerous sea journey to seek refuge, some are not accepted due to nations’ hesitancy to accept them as residents. Officials and authority officials are worried whether permitting Rohingya to remain in their nation forever will undermine the country's political and economic aspects.

The Rohingya are frequently left with limited options for refuge, none of which come close to providing them with a decent living. They are forced to live in tightly packed camps or are left to seek their own shelter.