COVID-19 IMPACTS ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION: GLOBAL RESPONSES ROHINGYA REFUGEES IN COX’S BAZAR, BANGLADESH The largest refugee settlement in the world, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, houses around 900,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.16 In all the 34 camps, tightly packed and overcrowded conditions render social distancing virtually impossible, placing their residents at a disproportionately high risk of contracting COVID-19. The Rohingya populations in these camps are also entirely reliant on humanitarian assistance, both local and international. However, this is currently hampered by travel restrictions implemented by the Government of Bangladesh.17 The movement of aid workers in and out of the camps is heavily restricted, while refugees are only allowed to travel to neighbouring camps but are not allowed to go to places further out like the city centre of Cox’s Bazar and other municipalities such as Chittagong.18 A study published in March 2020 by John Hopkins University researchers projected that, should there be an outbreak among the refugee community in Cox’s Bazar, the virus would first spread slowly before rapidly cascading within a year. Based on their models, a single case in Cox’s Bazar could lead to between 119 and 504 transmissions within a month, and up to 600,000 infections in a year.19 As of July 2020, there have been around 60 COVID-19 cases reported in the camps, with five deaths. 20 While the numbers have not gone up exponentially since the first case, the conditions for a serious outbreak are still present. This is due to several factors. Firstly, the average population density in a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar is about 40,000 people per square kilometre, which drastically increases the chances that the virus will spread quickly. 21 Secondly, while the Bangladesh government has been working in tandem with national and international aid agencies to improve healthcare infrastructure and services in the camps, the camps are still woefully unequipped to deal with the pandemic. 22 Due to government under-investment, the health sector in Bangladesh suffers from inadequate quality of healthcare service and paucity of essential equipment. 23 Intensive care capacity is still lacking, and COVID-19 testing capacity is still very low in Cox’s Bazar. 24 As of 10 June 2020, there is only one testing laboratory in the entire Cox’s Bazar, catering to both host communities and refugees. 25 The response has also been complicated by increasing distrust for and stigmatisation of Rohingya refugees. Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been a rise in anti-Rohingya hate speech and racism among the local population in Cox’s Bazar. Rohingya refugees have been accused of carrying the virus and siphoning resources away from local Bangladeshi communities. 26 Societal stigmatisation would only compound the suffering of the Rohingya. As such, it is important that the Bangladesh government works together with aid agencies to create and promote campaigns to reduce the stigmatisation of the Rohingya by host communities in Cox’s Bazar. Finally, Rohingya refugees need to be included in policy discussions as well as mitigation plans. This would give them a voice and enable policymakers to be culturally sensitive when planning and enacting response strategies. An example that highlights this need can be seen when the practice of ‘shielding’ – separating the elderly from their families as a form of social distancing – was met with pushback from the Rohingyas. 27 Consultation with Rohingya representatives would have revealed that most Rohingyas are against the splitting up of multi-generational households, which then would have resulted in more culturally appropriate COVID-19 mitigation policies. CONCLUSION As COVID-19 continues to rage throughout the world, it is becoming ever clearer that each country, or indeed the world, is only as strong and prepared as its most vulnerable member. For the already movementrestricted irregular migrants living in overcrowded camps, further confinement in camps – most of which already lack adequate healthcare and sanitation facilities during ‘normal’ times – may perhaps bring about an undesirable result. As such, an inclusive health-disaster response, one which takes into account the particular needs and vulnerabilities of each community, would be vital for the long-term eradication of COVID-19. S. NANTHINI Research Analyst Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Nanyang Technological University, Singapore CHRISTOPHER CHEN Associate Research Fellow Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 16 Hasina Akhter, “Opinion: From Cox’s Bazar – How to Address Refugee Needs Amid Covid-19”, Devex, 2020, https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-from-cox-sbazar-how-to-address-refugee-needs-amid-covid-19-97840 17 Humanitarian Response.Info, “2020 Covid-19 Response Plan for Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis – April to December”, 2020, https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/ en/operations/bangladesh/document/2020-covid-19-response-plan-rohingya-humanitarian-crisis-april 18 Ro Yassin Abdoumonab, “Amid Coronavirus, a Rohingya Refugee Reflects on Camp Life Under Lockdown”, UNHCR, 2020, https://www.unhcr.org/ph/19911-amidcoronavirus-a-rohingya-refugee-reflects-on-camp-life-under-lockdown.html 19 Shaun Truelove, Orit Abrahim, Chiara Altare, Andrew Azman, and Paul Spiegel, “Novel Coronavirus: Projecting the Impact in Rohingya Refugee Camps and Beyond”, 2020, https://www.sheltercluster.org/sites/default/files/docs/john_hopkins_study_rohingya_refugee_camp_covid19_20200318.pdf 20 Azm Anas, “Rohingya Scapegoated as Bangladesh Battles COVID-19”, Nikkei Asian Review, 2020, https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/Rohingyascapegoated-as-Bangladesh-battles-COVID-19 21 Mohammad Mainul Islam and MD Yeasir Yunus, “Rohinya Refugees at High Risk of Covid-19 in Bangladesh”, The Lancet. Global Health, 2020, https://www.thelancet. com/pdfs/journals/langlo/PIIS2214-109X(20)30282-5.pdf 22 Saleh Ahmad, “Coronavirus Closes in on Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh’s Cramped Unprepared Camps”, The Conversation, 2020, https://theconversation.com/ coronavirus-closes-in-on-rohingya-refugees-in-bangladeshs-cramped-unprepared-camps-135147 23 Western Sydney University, “State Responses to COVID-19: A Global Snapshot at 1 June 2020”, 2020, https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/ object/uws%3A56288/datastream/PDF/view 24 Jenny Lei Ravelo, “As Covid-19 Deaths Rise in Cox’s Bazar, is Increased Testing Enough?”, Devex, 2020, https://www.devex.com/news/as-covid-19-deaths-rise-incox-s-bazar-is-increased-testing-enough-97412 25 Ibid. 26 Azm Anas, “Covid-19 Fuels Tensions between Rohingya Refugees and Bangladeshi Hosts”, The New Humanitarian, 2020, https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/ news-feature/2020/07/27/Bangladesh-Rohingya-refugee-host-coronavirus-aid 27 “Coronavirus in the Rohingya Camps: Five Key Issues to Watch”, The New Humanitarian, 2020, https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2020/05/15/ coronavirus-rohingya-camps idcoalition.org | westernsydney.edu.au/hadri 13