IRI | BANGLADESH • Urdu-Speaking “Biharis” 6 Finding 2 Biharis want the government to provide housing outside of the camps. In Bangladesh, the term “rehabilitation” refers to a government effort to provide Biharis new subsidized housing. Most participants said their primary hardship is living in the camps, from which many of their other daily challenges originate. The camps are squalid, unsafe and signify Bihari inferiority to other Bangladeshis. “Rehabilitation is most important,” said a Chattogram man, 27. “The government should allot plots for everyone …. Everything will be improved if there is rehabilitation.” A Saidpur man, 38, said, “We desperately want to stay outside the camps. It’s like a hell for us and we want to escape from here.” For most participants, the ideal form of rehabilitation would be permanent housing that The government should allot plots for everyone …. Everything will be improved if there is rehabilitation. — MA LE, 37, CHATTOGR AM is not far from the current camps, so they can retain their jobs and integrate into the Bengali community. A Mohammadpur woman, 26, explained, “If there is rehabilitation, we don’t want to be left out. We don’t want a separate place for Biharis. We want to merge with the Bengali community. We want to be resettled in a place where both Biharis and Bengalis live side by side.” Finding 3 Bihari participation in politics is limited in most locations, and many say that politicians rarely keep their promises to the community. The participants expressed mixed levels of interest in and attitudes toward politics. While most said they were interested in politics, others said they had more pressing concerns. A Saidpur man, 27, said, “We cannot think of politics. We are so worried about our earnings. If we get involved with politics, then we will starve.” Participants said Biharis infrequently participate in formal politics, but some serve on elected ward councils — Bangladesh’s lowest level of government — or as organizers for a political party. Biharis sometimes face discrimination in politics because of their identity. A Khulna man, 50, described his experience running for a ward council position. One of his opponents, who was the son of a freedom fighter,3 would say in his 3 speeches, “Is this why we liberated our country? To elect a Bihari?” The man concluded, “I could not get elected in that election being a Bihari.” According to participants, Biharis’ political affiliation is mixed despite the community’s reputation as being sympathetic to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). A Saidpur man, 25, said, “Everybody has their own choices. For example, I support Awami League. Some of us support BNP, and some others support Jatiya Party.” A Khulna man, 35, expressed a similar sentiment. “Despite the fact that there are Bihari people who support various ideologies … it is often said that Biharis do not vote for the Awami League. Whereas I myself voted for Awami League as did many of us who work in different factories,” he said. Those who fought in Bangladesh’s Liberation War against Pakistan in 1971 are often called “freedom fighters.”