'We don't need pity'

18 June 2025

Just before the Eid holidays, I was in the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar with my colleagues. It was heartwarming to see the little children laughing and learning in makeshift classrooms. These learning centers were their happy places where they played, learned, and looked up to their teachers, the Afa and Bhai, as role models. 

But today, those classrooms are at risk of being shut down.

The reason? Funding cuts.

Nearly half a million Rohingya children and adolescents are now at risk of losing access to education. Without education, their future hangs in balance.

Met a Rohingya man seeking care at one of IRC's health facilities. He is among the 150,000 new arrivals who have taken refuge in Cox's Bazar in recent months, with reports suggesting another 50,000 may arrive by end of 2025. Many lack documentation and face serious barriers to basic services. Women and children are especially at risk of trafficking, exploitation, and abuse. Urgent, coordinated action is needed to ensure their protection and access to lifesaving support.

We also met families preparing to resettle in a third country. We saw their hope, their joy, and felt their worry of uncertainty. Starting over in a new land is never easy. But it does bring something that many have long been denied: a chance at stability and safety.

Over 2,000 Rohingya refugees have already been resettled. One of them is Lucky Karim, once a resident of the camps and now a global voice for the Rohingya people in Cox'sbazar. She was one of the first Rohingya woman to be resettled from Cox's Bazar. Her journey shows what is possible when people are given the chance to rebuild.

We also met a mother of four daughters who had just left the camp. Her words stay with us:

"Yet again, I am leaving one country for another country, but this time with my four daughters.
My husband left me for another woman, and I only have these four daughters.
In the new country, my sole wish is to raise them properly, so they don't have to depend on anyone else. So that they can make their own choices and look after me." – A Rohingya woman with four children resettling in a third country

Resettlement gives these people more than safety—it offers hope, dignity, and a chance to rebuild their lives. It allows them to live without fear, reunite with family, and finally dream of a future again. Resettlement needs to continue.  But it needs strong diplomatic support from Bangladesh and more commitment from the global community.

Meanwhile, it's raining again in Cox's Bazar because it is monsoon time. 

The shelters, made of tarpaulin and bamboo, leak. Many floods. The threat of landslides looms. People have nowhere else to go. Too often, families lose their loved ones in these disasters. To protect lives and restore hope, we must invest in climate-resilient infrastructure for both Rohingya families and host communities in Cox's Bazar.

We met many women full of potential. Some are now stepping into leadership roles. For the first time, four Rohingya women have become Majhis, or community leaders. This is a turning point. When women lead, communities grow stronger. But they need support, training, safety, and the space to make decisions. Over half the refugee population are women. Their voices matter equally.

In the camps, we met young people creating art, repairing phones, singing songs, doing photography and videography, producing digital content, writing poetry, and learning skills like carpentry and electrical work. They really don't want to rely on aid. They want opportunities. With each opportunity they can get market based skills and access to higher education. Every one of them could become valuable contributors to the host country, to their future homes, or one day, to a peaceful Myanmar.

But all of this is now under massive threat.

Since January'25, funding has dropped dramatically. Basic sectors like food, water, health, and shelter are being prioritized and rightly so. But Rohingya refugees deserve more than just survival. They deserve dignity.

Funding cuts will also hurt the host communities, who already share limited resources. This will increase tensions if left unaddressed. We must support both the Rohingya and Bangladeshi host communities, so everyone can live with dignity and hope and secure a better future

This week, the world marks World Refugee Day,  this is a moment to honor the strength and resilience of people forced to flee their homes. But behind the words and  events lies a harsh truth: over 120 million people are displaced globally. Among them, more than one million Rohingya refugees continue to live in the world's largest and most overcrowded refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.

Their crisis is one of the most neglected and forgotten. Many have spent nearly eight years in a limbo, without citizenship, freedom of movement, or access to basic rights.

The global community should not look away. Refugees must not be remembered only once a year. They deserve attention and action every single day.

Recently, we came across a powerful poem by a Rohingya youth named Jaber, titled We Are Not Your Headlines. The first four lines read:

You take our pain; wrap it in newsprint,
Filter it through sympathy and sell it by the hour...

And it ends with a call:

We don't need pity;
We need justice written not in ink;
But in immediate action.

The Rohingya people deserve action. Not just sympathy. 

That is why, on this World Refugee Day and every day, we urge governments, donors, and international actors to stand with the Rohingya people not just in words, but through action. They deserve more than survival; they deserve a life of dignity, safety, and hope.

We must invest in their future through education, skills, and protection for both Rohingya and Bangladeshi youth, women, and families who continue to carry the weight of this prolonged crisis. We must not allow more lives to be uprooted; no one should ever be forced to flee again. And we must ensure that no one remains stateless or forgotten.

Every refugee carries a story of loss, resilience, and longing. Every voice matters. Let us not look away.

The time to act is now, before hope fades completely.

PS: The title of the Op-Ed comes from a poem written by Jaber, a Rohingya youth.

The writers Hasina Rahman is the  country director of International Rescue Committee, and Shabira Nupur is the head of Advocacy and Communication, International Rescue Committee

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.