Discontent rising in Bangladeshi host community over negative effects of Rohingya camps: US Institute of Peace
The report, commissioned by the South Asia programme at the United States Institute of Peace, examines the perceptions and experience of conflict, governance, and politics among Bangladeshis and Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar
There have been signs of increasing discontent in the Bangladeshi host community over insecurity, economic costs, and other negative effects of the Rohingya refugee camps, said a recent report by The United States Institute of Peace, a US federal institution for nonviolent prevention and mitigation of deadly conflict abroad
"In August 2017, several hundred thousand Rohingya fled violence and persecution in Myanmar, seeking refuge in Cox's Bazar in neighboring Bangladesh. In the years since, the Bangladeshi government has provided a safe haven for the refugees. Yet there are signs of increasing discontent in the Bangladeshi host community over insecurity, economic costs, and other negative effects of the refugee camps," said the report titled "Conflict Dynamics between Bangladeshi Host Communities and Rohingya Refugees" published on Wednesday (12 April).
The report, commissioned by the South Asia programme at the United States Institute of Peace, examines the perceptions and experience of conflict, governance, and politics among Bangladeshis and Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
It utilises survey and focus group research funded and published by the International Republican Institute, a democracy-assistance organization headquartered in Washington, DC.
The report states more than 950,000 Rohingya refugees currently live in camps in the area of Cox's Bazar, after fleeing religiously motivated violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar.
It adds host community members see the effects of Rohingya refugees on their lives and communities as mostly negative and are frustrated by continuing assistance to the refugees, whom they view as having received sufficient aid.
"Host community members rarely interact with refugees, but interaction is often negative when it occurs. Host community members are also losing confidence in the ability of the government to address their concerns, and many see violence as an acceptable response to their grievances. Rohingya refugees view intercommunity relations with Bangladeshis as far less tense than do host community members," the report said.
"A range of conflict mitigation approaches that involve citizens, the Bangladeshi state, and the international community is urgently needed to alleviate intercommunity tension and forestall potential conflict," it added.
