The Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: conflict with the host community over natural resources in Cox’s Bazar district

Abstract

ABSTRACT More than 1 million Rohingya have fled Myanmar to live in Bangladesh, mostly in Cox’s Bazar district. The government of Bangladesh has been praised worldwide for sheltering them, but this enormous influx has strained its limited resources. As the host communities struggle with the Rohingya for control over, and access to, the scarce natural resources on which they depend for their livelihood – land, water, agriculture and forests – tension and conflict arises. The host community members perceive that the government and aid agencies prioritise the Rohingya over them in allocating resources, exacerbating their resentment. Both the locals and the Rohingya are marginalised, and therefore there is a need to focus on refugee–host community resource-based conflicts and related issues before designing any policy catering to the refugees.