The locals and the Rohingyas: Trapped with an uncertain future
| Author | Sayeda Akther,Lailufar Yasmin |
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2057891119865021 |
| Subject Matter | Research articles |
Research article
The locals and the Rohingyas:
Trapped with an uncertain
future
Lailufar Yasmin
Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sayeda Akther
Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Abstract
Since the 26 August 2017 influx of the Rohingya community into Bangladesh, particularly in the
Cox’s Bazar district, the country has been subjected to phenomenal challenges. While the initial
issues were to arrange food and accommodation for a community who had no other option but to
flee their homeland, gradually the nature of challenges diversified. This article identifies the rela-
tionship between the local community and the Rohingya community in the Cox’s Bazar district in
the aftermath of the influx. While doing so, it unfolds different types of tension and difficulties that
emerged in the area due to the Rohingya influx. It concludes that the influx has fundamentally
affected and altered the lives of the locals, which must be taken into consideration by the Gov-
ernment of Bangladesh in its plans for this region.
Keywords
Bangladesh, host community, Myanmar, Rohingya
Introduction
Bangladesh, the youngest South Asian nation, was born out of a violent conflict. During its War of
Independence in 1971, millions of people had to take refuge in neighbouring India. This was an
international headline—the world witnessed the plight of Bengalis in an age when there was no
internet or social media to make the news of it go viral. Global public opinion sympathised with the
cause of the Bengalis and gradually Bangladesh emerged as an independent and sovereign country.
The pain caused, which became a part of our national psyche, led Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Corresponding author:
Lailufar Yasmin, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
Email: lyasmin@du.ac.bd
Asian Journal of Comparative Politics
2020, Vol. 5(2) 104–120
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/2057891119865021
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Rahman to resolve not to stay disengaged from the struggles of people worldwide. An undeniable
cornerstone of Bangladesh’s foreign policy pillar, thus, was laid out by Bangabandhu with these
words: “[T]he world is divided into the oppressor and the oppressed. And I am with the oppressed”
(Rahman, 2017).
This long-standing foreign policy principle of Bangladesh was tested as the Rohingya commu-
nity, living in the Rakhine State of the north-west part of Myanmar, was persecuted by the
Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, in August 2017. The only option for the Rohingyas was to
cross the Naf River through the 272 km of border between Bangladesh and Myanmar and seek
refuge in the former. This is not, however, the first time that independent Bangladesh has hosted
persecuted Rohingyas. The saga of Rohingya persecution predates the birth of Bangladesh, and
since the 1970s Bangladesh has been hosting the Rohingya community in small as well as large
numbers. What is unique about the August 2017 influx is the sheer number of people who had to
flee their places of abode and the nature of the atrocities carried out against them by the Tatmadaw.
The Rohingya community crossed the Naf River through the Shah Parir Dwip in Teknaf upazila of
the Cox’s Bazar district and gradually spread out to other upazilas of the same district. With about
300,000 Rohingyas from earlier influxes already living in Bangladesh, the total number of Rohin-
gyas stood at 918,936 people as of July 2018 (ISCG, 2018a). They are concentrated in three of the
eight upazilas of Cox’s Bazar: Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Teknaf and Ukhia.
The involvement of the international community at the beginning of the crisis assisted Bangla-
desh in addressing the immediate needs of the Rohingya community. The continual presence of the
community, however, has started to unfold a new reality for the local people of Cox’s Bazar. The
presence of such a large and foreign community of people has gradually challenged the local
community on a number of issues relating t o their daily life. At one point in time, the local
community had become outnumbered in their own homeland. In this article, we outline the areas
where the local community are being challenged by the Rohingya community. In doing so, we
argue how the needs of the local community have been jeopardised and often taken a backseat
while addressing the needs of the Rohingya community. Gradually, this has led to a distancing
between the two communities, as well as having detrimental effects on the socio-economic and
political arenas. The article is divided into sections. The first section outlines the methodology and
significance of the article. The next section maps the location and number of the Rohingya
community. In the section after that, we identify the areas of tension among the local community.
We conclude by providing some recommendations for resolving these tensions between the local
and the Rohingya communities.
Methodology and significance of the study
Significant research exists on the Myanmar government’s apathy towards accepting Rohingyas as
citizens of the country. A number of studies and research reports have also attempted to ascertain
how the issue can be resolved and how repatriation of Rohingyas can be carried out. However, very
few studies have attempted to look into the cost of this massive influx of Rohingyas on the host
community, particularly the people living in Cox’s Bazar, as they are dealing with the situation
directly. The existing studies are mostly in the manner of project reports carried out either by
United Nations (UN) institutions or other donor agencies. It is in this context that this study aims to
carry out a systematic research on the effects of the Rohingya community on the local community.
Thus, it aims to fill the lacuna that exists in the current literature on this topic.
Yasmin and Akther 105
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