Burma Human Rights Network’s report: “We also have dreams” Many refugees in the world are able to apply for resettlement in third countries while living in refugee camps, but this is not the case for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. In the early 1990s Rohingya were able to go through the process of resettling in third countries, but Bangladesh ended the program without clarification. This policy has worsened the quality of life in the camps and encouraged refugees to undertake unsafe passage with human traffickers for a chance at a better life or being able to settle in a country which will allow them to be resettled. When asked if they would want to be resettled to a third country, over 63% of refugees said they would. Some even said this would be the best option for them because they feared the Burmese military would continue to persecute them if they returned. Yet, 36% said that they would not resettle into a third country because they only wanted to return to Burma. A 38-year-old woman told BHRN, “Yes, we would want to be resettled into a third country. We are ready to be resettled into a third country. If we can’t return to Myanmar with the resolution of our case, we are ready to go to another country.” A 26-year-old woman told BHRN, “We would go to a third country. It’s said that four or five exoduses from Myanmar had already happened, but we hadn’t seen those. They said that four or five exoduses had happened in our ancestors' times. Because of the violence, people had to flee. So, it would be better for us if we could go to foreign countries.” A 40-year-old woman told BHRN, “Yes, of course. We are supposed to say that. Our ancestors had been tortured and become refugees in Bangladesh. Some of our people died here and some others died there. Like this, our people are getting destroyed. We are supposed to ask [them] to resettle us to a third country. We would give an agreement not to do or say anything. All we want from the world is to take us to a third country. We hope the world will take us to a third country.” www.bhrn.org.uk 50