From solidarity to resistance: host communities’ evolving response to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Journal of International Humanitarian Action - Tập 6 Số 1 - 2021
Anas Ansar1, Abu Faisal Md. Khaled2
1Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
2Department of International Relations, Bangladesh University of Professionals, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Tóm tắt

AbstractBangladesh sets an admirable example of solidarity with the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar by hosting more than a million Rohingyas despite its resource constraints. However, there is a perceptible shift from this rather unconditional solidarity to an anti-refugee sentiment. In evaluating the factors that contributed to these changing dynamics, we analysed how the host communities’ solidarity with the plight of Rohingya refugees evolved. Broadly, it identifies three key factors that influence the approaches of the locals towards the refugees: economic instability as a result of the wage fall and price hike, unequal access to humanitarian aid and uneven distribution of resource opportunities created through substantial humanitarian operations and finally, political uncertainty about the future of the Rohingya crisis. By bringing the experiences of host communities and the manifold implications of existing humanitarian interventions into the centre of the analysis, the paper underlines the need for a more conciliatory approach involving different actors engaged in this crisis. In so doing, we argue that addressing the adverse impacts of a refugee crisis on the poorer hosts, particularly within the context of a protracted refugee situation, needs a more systematic evaluation, and it cannot be dealt with isolation from the broader socio-economic context of the refugee-hosting regions.

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Journal of International Humanitarian Action

Tập 6 Số 1

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