Box 2: Who has a shop and what does it involve? In most of the camps we visited we saw smallscale, Rohingya-run businesses selling goods such as dried and fresh food, clothes and household items and offering services such as barbering, tailoring and transportation. Most of the refugees we interviewed aspired to open a shop or business, in part because of the restrictions limiting other livelihood options such as fishing. According to the refugees we spoke to, opening a shop in the camps takes investment – in goods to sell as well as rent for the land, and the cost of building the shop. The men we interviewed who had a shop had all either sold their land in Myanmar and used the money to open their shop in the camps, or they had brought jewellery with them and sold it, using the proceeds to open the shop. One Rohingya shop owner we interviewed, who also volunteered for an INGO, said he had been a businessman in Myanmar and that helped him start his business, where he sold the same goods as he had back home. Another man, who had worked in construction and day labour in Myanmar, sold his gold jewellery and opened a shop on the advice of his relatives. A man working as a barber said that he had only earned 30 BDT ($0.36) so far that day, but had to pay the Rohingya shop owner 80 BDT ($0.95) per day, highlighting that customer numbers, and hence income, are variable. One Rohingya-led organisation interviewed in the camps described a broader range of possibilities for livelihoods, including fishing, rearing chickens, growing vegetables, small-scale sewing and larger garment production, motorcycle maintenance, construction, making furniture and producing products like biscuits and soap. There is some overlap between these suggestions and sectors identified in previous (unpublished) analysis conducted by ODI on potential labour market integration of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. This analysis – which identified key growth sectors in Cox’s Bazar and considered skill levels, ability to absorb female employment and the geographic concentration of activities, among other things – indicated that Rohingya participation could be possible in sectors such as fishing, salt extraction, tourism, manufacturing and construction. There are indications that small-scale, informal work by Rohingya in some of these sectors is already occurring, and there seems to be strong interest among refugees in entrepreneurial market-based activities within the camps. More analysis would be required to better understand the complexities of labour market integration, including fiscal incentives, host community/refugee dynamics, skills assessments and skills and language training.12 Any analysis regarding the economic lives and contributions of refugees must involve refugees themselves in identifying perceived risks and opportunities – otherwise it is likely to be misaligned with their realities and aspirations, and unlikely to win their support. 12 Also see Huang and Gough (2019) for a broader exploration of medium-term support to Bangladesh in responding to Rohingya refugees, including trade and investment, labour mobility, special economic zones and infrastructure investment, private sector investment, resettlement and development and climate finance. 22 Uncertain futures: Rohingya refugees’ perspectives on their displacement in Bangladesh