MULTI-FACETED HARDSHIP INDEBTEDNESS Refugees incur debt for various reasons, primarily in order to meet basic household expenses and supplement food rations, but also to invest in livelihood opportunities such as opening a shop, to pay for a daughter’s dowry, to cover medical expenses, or to pay the bribes often exacted for a chance to migrate. Nearly three in four households (74 percent) are currently in debt from loans they have taken since arriving to Bangladesh. Of indebted households, 89 percent currently have a debt of more than BDT 2,648, which is the average monthly household income. BDT 7,978 89% of indebted households owe more than 74% are in debt from loans taken in Bangladesh The average amount needed for monthly household expenditures BDT 2,648 BDT 5,040 BDT 2,648 is the average monthly household income Mean debt amount BDT 13,923 BDT 2,648 The average monthly food aid for a 6-person household Assets lost due to fleeing Myanmar House 99% Chickens 96% Farm, grazing or paddy land 88% Cows 77% Goats 61% Motorbike 41% Pond or fishery 34% Gold or jewelry 34% Shop 31% Other 31% Boat 15% LOST ASSETS Only 17 percent of households have assets that a relative is still looking after in Myanmar. Some people fled to Bangladesh with money or gold that they used to pay living expenses in the early days of displacement. But most of these savings were spent quickly, and the majority of people’s assets were tied up in the agrarian livelihoods they left behind. This loss of assets leaves refugees financially vulnerable and emotionally distraught. “ In Myanmar we had land and a farm. My husband and some laborers worked it. I did many tasks inside our house and compound. I helped with the poultry and did some farm work. We can’t do that here in a small shelter. We had three acres. It was not a lot, but it was enough… Here I sit around in my shelter doing nothing. I have to think about my daughter’s marriage. But I have no money, I cannot arrange it. - Rohingya mother of three, age 40 Living in Camp 9