Rohingya Crisis

Written By: Anna Zhang

More than a million people are in danger of dying at this very moment—the Rohingya. Their population remains at risk and, due to funding cuts on humanitarian aid, have a lower chance of surviving than before. Stranded in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, their future looks increasingly bleak as basic necessities are taken away from them.

Background:

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group, living for centuries in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. Even though they have a little over a million people living in this country, they have constantly been denied citizenship since 1982, making them the world’s largest stateless population. They have their own dialect separate from others spoken in Myanmar, and due to the law, the Rohingya cannot vote. Their access to healthcare, certain professions, and practice of religion is also severely limited, mainly due to a new citizenship law passed in 1982, which successfully rendered the Rohingya stateless. What’s worse, they are extremely vulnerable to sexual assault, gender-based violence, and exploitation.

While the Rohingya suffered years of discrimination and suffering in Myanmar, it was nothing compared to the escalation of events that occurred in 2017. In August of 2017, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a Rohingya military group, launched attacks on more than 30 police posts. In response to these attacks, the Myanmar military started targeting Rohingya communities, which was described by the United Nations as an example of “ethnic cleansing”. There have been devastating stories of the killing, violence, and sexual violence that occured during this attack, a clear violation of human rights. Almost overnight, a whole population lost their homes, their families, and suffered trauma that no human should have to go through. Over the next months, around 750,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh for protection, and since then, hundreds of thousands have joined them. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “More than 1.3 million people were displaced within Myanmar in 2023 due to escalating violence following the military takeover in February 2021. By the end of 2023, there were more than 2.6 million internally displaced people (IDP) in the country. An additional 1.3 million refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar are hosted in other countries, including nearly 1 million stateless Rohingya refugees who are living in Bangladesh”.

Rohingya people crossing the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar
Source: Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Impact:

However, the refugee camps are cramped and unsanitary. Nearly a million Rohingya refugees are crammed in 24 square kilometers, making the camps one of the world’s most densely populated places. The majority are women and children, with almost 60 percent of the refugees being children. Conditions are terrible, with flimsy shelters and contaminated water. Children are vulnerable to diseases, malnutrition, exploitation, and many more. They have inadequate education and rely entirely on humanitarian assistance to stay alive. Adults are prohibited from employment, leaving them with no source of income or supporting their family. What’s worse, the monsoon season is prevalent in Bangladesh, with floods, strong winds, and cyclones hitting the country in the later half of the year. With the flimsy shelters the Rohingya refugees have, many have been in danger. In early 2023, Cyclone Mocha, a severe storm, hit Bangladesh, impacting nearly a million refugees.

Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh
Source: Allison Joyce

Response Aid and Efforts:

Multiple countries and organizations have worked since 2017 to aid the Rohingya with supplies, health services, food, water, and other essentials. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), World Food Programme, and many NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) are just some of the groups that have provided necessities over the years to the displaced refugees.

However, in recent years, international funding for Rohingya aid has been cut back severely. Since the new Trump administration froze U.S. foreign aid at the start of 2025, there have been reductions in Rohingya aid operations in Bangladesh. According to one aid official, “At least $15 million was initially cut to key UN and NGO programs covering child protection, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, girls education, medical supply chains, and disaster preparedness and recovery”. To make matters worse, over half of the funding to Rohingya refugees was provided by the United States, so the suspension of U.S. support has caused a tremendous blow to the supplies that they need. By December of this year, food assistance could stop and education for hundreds of thousands of children is at risk of being discontinued. A Rohingya mother lost her husband due to suicide because of the cuts in funding from the United States. She said, “...in just two days the announcement from the U.S. came that the resettlement program is stopped. So, immediately my 45 year old husband committed suicide, and we lost him forever”. In addition, medical services, support for mental health, and services for people with disabilities have all been reduced sharply, and an NGO estimated that above 300,000 refugees had been affected by just these cuts alone. The refugees in Bangladesh can feel the impact of these cuts, and it places great uncertainty and fear toward what the future could hold, and if they can even survive that long.

Rohingya refugees wait for relief supplies at their refugee camp in Bangladesh
Source: Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Call to Action:

While the future may look bleak, there are multiple things we can do to support Rohingya refugees. Donating to NGOs and other organizations, raising awareness, and advocating for our government to increase humanitarian aid are just some actions that can be done to help this population. The Rohingya have suffered decades of violence and prosecution under their home country, and now need our help more than ever. We cannot afford to forget about these refugees, and must pool our resources to help make sure they get the assistance and funding they need to survive.