refugees’ current situation and community engagement
and leadership within the Rohingya camp communities:
•
•
•
What are the main challenges and issues in your
life today?
What are you hoping for your life now? What are
your goals and objectives?
Since coming to Bangladesh, have you ever been
consulted by community leaders or aid actors
about what you want in the medium to long term?
For the qualitative research 40 interviews were
conducted (22 women, 18 men) in the following
locations (see Figure 1): Shamlapur, Unchiprang
and various camps in Kutupalong Balukhali and
Nayapara. A gender-, age- and diversity-sensitive
framework was used to guide participant selection,
which was conducted through a combination of
purposive and snowball sampling. The refugees
interviewed were all part of the ‘new’ influx, most
having been in Bangladesh for a year and a half (range
5–24 months). Their ages ranged from 18–70 (most
were in their twenties and thirties), the majority were
married with children and a quarter were individuals
who would be considered by standards commonly
used in humanitarian assessment to have an additional
vulnerability (i.e. they were elderly, widowed, single
parents or had a physical disability).
Two key informant interviews were conducted with
refugee leaders of community-based organisations in
the camps. Five focus groups were also held: four with
refugees living in Shamlapur (two with women, two
with men – some of these refugees were part of the
‘new’ influx; others had been born in Bangladesh or
had been in Bangladesh for many years). One focus
group was with a group of male majhis (refugee
leaders) from Kutupalong Balukhali. The data
collected during the research was analysed by gender,
and this report notes where findings differed between
men and women.
6
The research has several limitations. First, while the
survey sampling was representative at the response
level, it cannot be used to fully understand the views of
Rohingya within any one particular camp. Conversely,
the qualitative research is not generalisable. Findings
from the interviews nevertheless provide important
insights into how a diverse sample of Rohingya
refugees sees their future. Second, we worked with
Bangladeshi research assistants from Cox’s Bazar who
translated during interviews and focus groups; as
there is significant but not complete overlap between
Chittagonian and Rohingya languages, some nuance
may have been lost in translation. The surveys were
conducted by enumerators who speak Bengali and
Chittagonian, and who received Rohingya language
training. This helps with translation challenges, but
cannot remove them entirely. Lastly, conducting
research in the camps was logistically difficult, as space
constraints prevented private conversations. While
interviews were generally conducted in the privacy of
refugees’ shelters, they were often in the presence of
family or friends at some point, which could potentially
have affected responses.
1.3 Outline of the report
Chapter 2 situates the research in the broader policy
discussions around options for supporting the Rohingya
in displacement, and various durable solutions. Chapter
3 outlines refugees’ aspirations, including where they
would like to live in the medium to long term, as
well as the challenges they raised during interviews
about their lives in Bangladesh. Chapter 4 focuses on
what refugees think would support their livelihoods
and improve their lives in the medium to long term.
Finally, Chapter 5 delves into community leadership
and organisation, relations with individual Rohingya
refugees and the views of refugees on how best to
integrate their perspectives in global dialogues. Chapter
6 outlines conclusions and recommendations.
Uncertain futures: Rohingya refugees’ perspectives on their displacement in Bangladesh