INTRODUCTION
As the majority of displaced people living in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh
enter their fourth year of displacement after arriving in 2017, the ongoing challenges of
camp life have been compounded by the looming threat of Covid-19. Due to restrictions
on internet service and the drawing down of humanitarian access as a result of
lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus, community engagement has been made
more difficult during this time. This means that opportunities to adequately consult
community members’ views, priorities and needs during the pandemic are scarce.
As of mid-August 2020, only 79 cases of Covid-19 had been formally confirmed in Cox’s
[1]
Bazar, with 6 reported Rohingya fatalities
from Covid-19.
The low figures may be
attributable to low testing rates and possible under-reporting, a claim which is
supported by higher reported rates of transmission in the host community: there were
[2]
3,678 reported host community cases and 61 fatalities over the same
reporting period.
[3]
This study, Community Views on the Impact of Covid-19 in Rohingya Camps, aims to
gather community perspectives from diverse people on the impacts of Covid-19 in the
camps, including those of youth, elders, women, people with disabilities, religious
leaders, people with relatives living on Bhasan Char, and recovered Covid-19 patients.
The perspectives of several unlicensed health practitioners are also included. Known as
“community doctors” or “quack doctors,” they provide medical services to camp
residents outside of the formal camp health system run by humanitarian agencies.
The findings of the report were developed through a community-driven project based on
‘participatory action research’ methods. In an effort to ‘flip’ traditional Western research
methods in which international researchers conduct investigations themselves—or rely
upon locals as fixers, assistants or enumerators—the project centered local researchers
who live in the camps of Cox’s Bazar. Two of the three camp-based researchers who led
the project are youth. Together, they scoped the research project, developed a series of
research questions based on their assessment of community needs, and conducted
interviews with their fellow community members. International researchers played a
supporting and coaching role, helping to guide the research remotely, assisting when
the research process faced challenges, and editing this report. In the interests of
security, the identities of all respondents who were interviewed have been anonymized.
The study contributes to the goals of the global agenda set forth by UN Security Council
Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security. This international framework, which is
the first of its kind, signals an appreciation of the important role that young people
potentially play in peacebuilding, preventing and resolving conflict, and countering
violent extremism. The study supports these aims on a substantive level by canvassing
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