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Bangladesh

Field Reports  In-Depth Reports  Letters & Testimonies

Overview
Refugees International is concerned about the integration and family reunification of stateless Urdu-speaking minorities (Bihari).  RI also focuses on the situation of the Rohingya refugee population from Burma in Bangladesh.

Current Humanitarian Sutiation
In May 2008, a Bangladesh High Court judgment confirmed the citizenship rights of Biharis, a minority from the Hindu region of Bihar who had been stateless since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971.  Bangladesh continues to host approximately 160,000-200,000 Urdu speakers in 66 camps in 13 regions across the country. They face overcrowded living quarters, poor sanitation systems, and inadequate education and health care facilities. Despite the court judgment, little has been done to improve current conditions so that the community gains the full benefits of citizenship.

Bangladesh also hosts a growing Rohingya refugee population.  Rohingya are Muslims from Arakhan state in western Burma, where they are currently stateless and subjected to draconian government policies restricting their ability to travel, work, and marry.   They have fled their homes since 1988 to escape government campaigns against their communities.

28,000 registered Rohingya refugees live in two camps in the Cox’s Bazaar district (Nayapara and Kutupalong).  An unofficial camp site at Leda was constructed in 2008 to house an additional 10,000 Rohingya asylum seekers. An additional 200,000 undocumented Rohingya live in Bangladesh, with additional Rohingya continuing to join them each year.

Like the Bihari, Rohingya camp residents live with rudimentary shelter, poor water and sanitation systems, and inadequate education and health facilities.  Sexual and gender-based violence are endemic throughout the Rohingya refugee population. Outside the camps, Rohingya live in impoverished Bangladeshi communities, and strategies to provide services to both refugees and their local hosts are necessary.  Increasing numbers of Rohingya are utilizing traffickers to reach Malaysia, where there are better livelihood opportunities.

Action Needed
Bangladesh and international donors should support the integration of the both the Bihari and Rohingya communities into Bangladeshi society, and, joined by Pakistan, assist Biharis who wish to reunite with family members there.

Field Reports
  • Rohingya: Burma’s Forgotten Minority
    12/18/2008
    Among Burma’s ethnic minorities, the Rohingya, a stateless population, stand out for their particularly harsh treatment by Burmese authorities and their invisibility as a persecuted minority.  Despite decades of severe repression, there has been minimal international response to the needs of this extremely vulnerable population compared to other Burmese refugees.
  • Bangladesh: Maintain Momentum to Guarantee Citizenship Rights
    09/25/2008
    For the first time since Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, Urdu speaking minorities will be eligible to vote in December’s parliamentary elections. A High Court judgment last May confirmed the group’s rights to Bangladeshi citizenship, ending nearly four decades of political and socio-economic exclusion.
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In Depth Reports
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Advocacy Letters
Successes
In September 2007, the Bangladeshi interim government announced its decision to grant citizenship to stateless Biharis born after 1971. For almost two years, RI has been calling for citizenship for more than 250,000 Biharis who live in 66 camps throughout the country and are locked out of job and education opportunities.