Thousands of Rohingya protest in Bangladesh 6 years after exodus: ‘we want to go home with our full rights’
- Despite the monsoon downpour, 10,000 refugees were at the biggest of the demonstrations that spread across the sprawling settlements near the Myanmar border
- Budget cuts forced the UN to steeply reduce aid to the camps this year – where malnutrition was already rampant – rations are now just US$8 a month per refugee
Bangladesh is home to around a million members of the stateless minority, most of whom fled the 2017 military crackdown now subject to a genocide probe at the International Criminal Court.
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Fires, floods and food shortages: destitute homes worsen over 6 years for a stateless minority
Frustration is widespread over rampant lawlessness in the refugee settlements, along with cuts to international humanitarian aid and the lack of progress in a much-hyped repatriation deal.
“We demand citizenship back from Myanmar. It’s nothing new, we were and are the citizens of Myanmar,” Kamal Hussain, a Rohingya community leader, said. “They are slowly trying to wipe out our name from the history of Myanmar.”
Several protests were staged across the sprawling patchwork of settlements near the Myanmar border despite monsoon downpours.
Around 10,000 refugees were present at the largest one, according to the Armed Police Battalion, which is tasked with maintaining security in the camps.
