Visiting the Rohingya Refugee Camp

Coming to Bangladesh, I had no intention of visiting the Rohingya Refugee Camp. I was in Cox Bazar, a beach town in the south, when a man asked me my purpose of visiting. He asked, “You come to see the Rohingya”? I knew of the refugee crisis going on, but I didn’t think much of it being in Cox Bazar. The man told me we were about an hour and a half away from the camp, and I didn’t have any plans for the following day, so I figured I would visit to document their stories.

Quick History on the Rohingya

The Rohingya are a majority Muslim ethnic group who have been residing in the Rakhine state of Myanmar for centuries. After gaining independence from the British, Myanmar passed an act which detailed the 135 official ethnic groups and the Rohingya were not included in that. Rather than treat them as citizens, the government claimed the Rohingya were Bengalis (people from Bangladesh). Since 1982, the Rohingya have been stateless (no citizenship). Nearly all of the Rohingya in Myanmar live in Rakhine, one of the poorest states in Myanmar. They not allowed to leave without government permission and lack basic needs. For the past few decades there has been a massive ethnic cleansing campaign and as a result of the violence, many have fled to nearby Bangladesh in the Chittagong Division, the place I was in.

A Half Day Journey With the Rohingya

The next morning I set off for the camp and arrived an hour and a half later. I walked straight into the camp without anyone taking notice. I never visited a refugee camp before, so I had no idea what to expect. It was rather quiet and seemed like a village more than a camp.

As I started walking, a group of kids no older than 6 began following me. Soon, I attracted an army of like 10 showing me around their village. They didn’t speak any English of course, but somehow we understood each other. The children were friendly and very excited to show me around. Pretty soon, people began popping out of their homes to see this army of children showing a foreigner around their area.

I had no idea where I was going, I was just following a bunch of kids. The further I got into the village/camp, the larger the group became. Soon, I had like 15 kids with me, all of them filled with energy yelling “Hello! Hello!”

Due to the language barrier, I wasn’t able to communicate with anyone and ask about the conditions and their concerns moving forward, but from what I saw, the people seemed quite happy. One thing I found interesting was the pride they expressed in being Rohingya.  One older woman I met pointed to herself and said with a big smile, “Rohingya” when I approached her. She allowed me into her home for tea and introduced me to her family.

I spent two hours with the Rohingya before going back to Cox Bazar. Almost every kid in the village walked me back to my taxi and waved goodbye as I departed.

I woke up that morning not knowing what to expect from this visit, but I didn’t expect this kind of unconditional love. Here were a group of people forced from their homes under the worst conditions living in a foreign land, and they showed me nothing but kindness and respect. Much love to the Rohingya!