THE Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh camps look forward to their repatriation to Myanmar but hardly see any prospect for this because almost all the processes taken up bilaterally and multilaterally since 2017 — when about 750,000 of them fled military violence in Rakhine to add to other Rohingyas who have lived here since the late 1970s to make 1.1 million of them — have petered out before they could get going. In such a situation, the Rohingyas are now caught in a growing incidence of organised crimes such as murder, kidnapping, rape, drug peddling, arson and robbery and a declining international fund for their sustenance. Earlier efforts faltered twice on August 22, 2019 under an arrangement signed on January 16, 2018 and on November 15, 2018 under an agreement signed on November 23, 2017, mostly because of Myanmar’s unwillingness to create an atmosphere in Rakhine conducive to a sustainable, graceful return of the Rohingyas. They have now grown to more than 1.2 million. In newer turns of events, Bangladesh authorities in 2018 handed Myanmar a list of 8,29,036 Rohingyas for repatriation, but Myanmar verified only 61,921 and cleared 37,700 of them. Yet, none could be repatriated.

A team from Myanmar visited Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar this March and May to begin a pilot repatriation programme, but none of the Rohingyas wanted to return to camps in Rakhine from camps in Bangladesh. The Myanmar authorities are reported to have built only 300 houses and had an offer to provide the Rohingyas who would return with food for three to four months. This left enough of an impression that the efforts would bring about nothing positive. A third-country resettlement for the Rohingyas deplorably failed. While western countries in 2022 said that they had begun the resettlement process, only 62 Rohingyas are reported to have been resettled in the United States, 64 in Canada, 7 in the Netherlands and 10 in Australia. Law enforcers have, meanwhile, reported that 25 Rohingays were killed in the first five months of 2023, 32 in 2020, 30 in 2021 and 10 in 2020. Law and order in the camps has become a serious concern for the law enforcers. The World Food Programme has also reduced the per capita monthly assistance for Rohingyas registered under the family card schemes from $10 to $8 beginning in June, giving fund shortage as a reason.

While all this continues to add to the plight of the Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, a meaningful resolution appears to be lying in a safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas in the interests of all stakeholders. Bangladesh’s efforts alone appear highly unlikely to make the Rohingya repatriation happen. While Bangladesh must, therefore, ramp up its bilateral efforts with Myanmar on the Rohingya repatriation and step up its efforts in regional and world forums, on diplomatic and whatever fronts available, the world must also act in view of the precariousness of the situation.