Difficulty of meeting monthly household
expenses
8% 1%
somewhat
difficult
not difficult
91%
n = 1565
“
We face great difficulties meeting our family’s
monthly expenses. We need to supplement our food
rations by buying additional vegetables, onions,
and fish. When we were in Myanmar, we could do
our own farming and we grew rice. From that we
were able to earn enough for our family’s monthly
expenses. But here in the camp we are suffering badly
because there are no job opportunities. If we get the
opportunity to do daily work, we will be able to live
more easily here.
- Rohingya father of four, age 25
From Rathedaung Township, living in Camp 5
very difficult
SEPARATED ACROSS BORDERS: THE FAMILY OF MOHAMMAD ANUWAR
Mohammad Anuwar (not his real name) is a 21-year-old Rohingya male from a large and formerly affluent Maungdaw
family who previously owned a wholesale distribution company for construction materials. Mohammad and his
eight siblings now live separated across numerous borders. They rely on phone and internet communication to stay
in touch and maintain their family’s sense of connection. Wealthier Rohingya families are more likely than poorer
families to have members abroad, due to the high cost of the journey.
Mohammad lived in the camps from 2017 to
2019 and received a daily stipend for his work
as an NGO volunteer. In order to pursue his
education, he has been living and studying in
Chittagong since November 2019.
The eldest brother in the family,
40 years old, lives in Saudi Arabia.
He traveled there by flying out
of Bangladesh in 1999, when
Mohammad was still a baby.
A third brother, 28 years old,
is now in Georgia, U.S.A. He
arrived in the United States
by way of Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Australia,
a journey that spanned six
years, from 2012 to 2018, and
included three years in an
Australian detention facility.
The second-eldest brother,
a 39-year-old lawyer, is
unable to practice law
in the camps and has
worked intermittently as
a paid NGO volunteer.
He previously worked
as an election volunteer
in Rakhine State and
traveled to Yangon twice for
trainings.
The brothers’ parents and four married
sisters still live in the camp they fled
to from Myanmar in 2017. It is more
common for sons than daughters to
risk the journey out of the camps.
A fourth brother
currently lives in
Malaysia, which he
reached in early
2019 after living for
a year and a half in
the refugee camp.
He now has UNHCR
status.
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