COMMENTARY
COVID-19 IN COX’S BAZAR: PANDEMIC
NARRATIVES FROM THE WORLD’S LARGEST
REFUGEE CAMP
YURIKO COWPER-SMITH * WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SAIFULLAH MUHAMMAD ∗∗
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction........................................................................................................... 148
Methodology ......................................................................................................... 149
Findings ................................................................................................................ 149
A Food and Water ........................................................................................ 150
B Housing and Camp Infrastructure............................................................. 150
C Healthcare and Other Services ................................................................. 151
D Lack of Access to Reliable Information ................................................... 152
E Sexual and Gender-Based Violence ......................................................... 153
Reflections ............................................................................................................ 154
INTRODUCTION
While well-established public healthcare systems in countries of the Global North
are struggling to manage the volume of COVID-19 patients, as well as its
secondary effects on all facets of society, countries of the Global South have
additional unique considerations that impact how they cope, especially those that
host large numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers.
Rohingyas are one of many indigenous communities in Myanmar, mostly
living in the north-western state of Rakhine. 1 They comprise a stateless population
that the Myanmar Government and military have persecuted for decades. 2 At the
time of writing, the country is experiencing a violent coup d’état, which is being
countered by a widespread and growing civil disobedience movement. 3 In 2017,
approximately 742,000 Rohingya people fled Myanmar to escape a state-
*
∗∗
1
2
3
Dr Yuriko Cowper-Smith holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Guelph.
She researches diaspora-led social movements, forced migration, statelessness and genocide.
Saifullah Muhammad is a Rohingya human rights activist who spent much of his life
advocating for refugees and persecuted minorities. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree
in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Waterloo.
Maung Zarni, ‘Myanmar: The February Coup and the Rohingya Genocide’ The Middle East
Institute (online, 1 April 2021) <https://www.mei.edu/publications/myanmar-february-coupand-rohingya-genocide?fbclid=IwAR0hf-2k6jL6hyBY9FOeQq2DGzuvLSmzqMkB7MHk6D7tyFMtsZqDtZkm8k>.
Although empirical evidence of their indigeneity exists, Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law
excludes the Rohingya minority on the basis that they are not one of the 135 ethnic minorities
that make up Myanmar’s population; Burma Citizenship Law, Law No 4 of 1982, 15 October
1982.
Nicola Williams, ‘Can Myanmar's Civil Disobedience Movement Restore Democracy?’ The
Strait Times (online, 18 March 2021) <https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/canmyanmars-civil-disobedience-movement-restore-democracy-daily-star-contributor>.