‘I have no expectations’: Few Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh elections, less than 1 million | 2026 Bangladesh elections

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – On Thursday afternoon, 19-year-old Mahmudul Hasan set up a chair on the floor of his bamboo-and-tarpaulin home in the Balkhali Rohingya refugee camp.

A few minutes later, 35 young children arrived. Although Hasan is still a teenager, he is their teacher. They greeted him in Rakhine. [Sir, how are you?]The 80 children study at Hasan’s community-run private school, where he teaches Burmese, English and mathematics.

But nearby, a Bangladeshi government official on a motorbike was trying to educate everyone who would listen about something else. He was making an announcement about the country’s upcoming elections on February 12th.

From February 9 to February 13, officials shouted into microphones that people in refugee camps should close their shops and not leave the camps. And he warned them, “Anyone found participating in a political campaign will be subject to “serious punishment.” Refugees could lose their registration cards and other documents that allow them to access subsidized food. ”

Cox’s Bazar camps are home to more than one million Rohingya refugees who were forced to flee Myanmar after a brutal military crackdown in 2017. Bangladesh, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, gave them protection when most countries shunned them. But their election season warning also served as a reminder of how life in Bangladesh is in limbo, with restrictions on education, health, rationing, livelihood options and freedom of movement.

As Bangladesh’s 127 million voters prepare to elect the next government, Rohingya refugees like Hasan know they are not the real stakeholders.

“There are no new expectations,” Hasan told Al Jazeera. “I have the right to live with dignity and human rights. [in Bangladesh] It’s not my choice. ”

Still, he acknowledged that candidates from the two main political fronts in the election, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islam-led alliance in the Ukhia and Teknaf regions, where the Rohingya camps are based, spoke about community concerns, as did the national leaders of those parties.

It gives him hope to cling to.

“Not enough”

Hasan arrived in Bangladesh in 2017 at the age of 10 with his family and other Rohingya refugees.

The genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar, where members of the community are not even considered citizens, is currently being investigated by the International Court of Justice as a possible genocide. Meanwhile, in November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Myanmar military commander Min Aung Hlaing for committing crimes against the Rohingya in 2017.

Since then, Bangladesh has become home to the world’s largest population of Rohingya refugees.

But Ney San Lwin, leader of the Rohingya diaspora and co-chairman of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), said while the community is grateful to the Bangladeshi government and people, the country’s “non-integration” policy towards the Rohingya means they remain on the fringes of society. For example, camps are surrounded by barbed wire and Rohingya children cannot access Bangladesh’s formal education system.

“The government elected in February should focus on improving living conditions, education, access to health care, livelihoods, and fostering greater engagement with refugees and host communities,” he said.

However, this is easier said than done. Rohingya camps operate with funding from the United Nations and global aid agencies, but funding cuts in recent years have hampered the already limited services available to residents.

“The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate due to insecurity, funding cuts, lack of education and uncertainty about the future,” said Saeed Ullah, chairman of the Rohingya Unity Council, a community organization.

Camp shopkeeper Hafez Ahmed, 64, said medical facilities in the camp were deteriorating. “We only had access to basic medicines provided by the hospital. If we were found to have a serious illness, the hospital would recommend us to be treated at a private hospital, but we don’t have the money,” he told Al Jazeera. “Rationing is dwindling and it’s not enough.”

And for young Rohingya, like teenage teacher Hasan, life in the camps is one of those shattered dreams.

“Camp life is traumatic. Camp life is like prison life,” he said. “I wanted to be a world-class teacher who would contribute to the education of the world, but what should I say to someone who has no destiny?”

Growing dissatisfaction with life in Bangladesh means more and more Rohingya refugees are seeking to repeat the perilous journey they once took to reach Bangladesh, this time elsewhere.

More than 5,300 Rohingya refugees will embark on dangerous sea journeys in 2025, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a joint statement in November. Many left Myanmar, while others tried to flee Bangladesh. In total, more than 600 people are missing or dead.

Bibi Khadijah, 23, is one of those trying to leave a refugee camp in Bangladesh. In November, she said, she tried to go to Malaysia “in search of a better life.” However, after the traffickers detained her and her 3-year-old son, she fled with her child. As she tried to return to camp, she asked locals for help at the market. Instead, she said, they “beat” her. “You are Rohingya. You always cause us trouble,” she recalled the mob telling her. Eventually, another local stranger gave her some money to help her get home.

Khadija’s story is not unique. Experts say the Rohingya in Bangladesh today sit at the crossroads of a complex narrative, in which both are treated as victims of a potential genocide and are held responsible for crime and the strain on social services.

As the country looks for a fresh start with the next election, many Rohingya and Bangladeshis concerned about their presence in the country are hoping for a new agreement for their communities.

“Top priority”

In August 2024, then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India to seek asylum after massive student-led riots. She has now been sentenced to death in absentia for a brutal crackdown by security forces on protesters that has left more than 1,400 people dead.

Since his ouster, Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus has led an interim government. Ahead of the Feb. 12 elections that will decide Bangladesh’s next government, the BNP and Jamaat, the two largest parties whose banned Awami League has been led by Hasina, have both spoken out about the Rohingya crisis.

“The repatriation of the Rohingya is a top priority for the BNP,” party leader Israfil Hosur told Al Jazeera. Mr. Khosr is a special assistant to BNP Chairman Tariq Rahman’s External Advisory Committee. In 1992, during Rahman’s mother Khaleda Zia’s term as prime minister, Bangladesh successfully repatriated Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. “We believe in the safe and dignified repatriation of the Rohingya. Their right to citizenship.” [in Myanmar] must be ensured. ”

Meanwhile, Jamaat has launched a platform seeking feedback from Bangladeshis and the diaspora on potential solutions to the Rohingya crisis. “We have received a considerable number of policy proposals from the people towards resolving the Rohingya crisis. We will consider them,” Jamaat Assistant Secretary Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair said.

He added, “Resolving the Rohingya issue and returning them to their homeland of Myanmar in safety and dignity is one of our party’s top priorities.” He said that while the previous Bangladesh government had focused on seeking a solution through the United Nations, “China, India and other important stakeholders should also play an effective role.”

However, Tanvir Habib, an assistant professor of international relations at Dhaka University, said the Rohingya issue was not a major factor in the election campaign.

“The next government will need to engage global and regional stakeholders to ensure support continues to reach this vulnerable community,” he said.

Thomas Keene, senior consultant on Bangladesh and Myanmar at the International Crisis Group, said Rohingya refugees would “welcome improved living conditions in the camps” no matter which party wins the election.

However, the refugees believe that “their stay in Bangladesh is temporary and the focus is on repatriation.”

John Quinley, director of human rights nonprofit Fortify Rights, warned that Bangladesh’s political parties need to do more than use “the Rohingya as a political tool during election campaigns.”

“Whoever is in power in Bangladesh must outline a comprehensive Rohingya strategy that goes beyond repatriation. Repatriation cannot be the only political agenda of Bangladeshi leaders, as repatriation is not possible at this time,” he argued. “Myanmar’s military regime continues to commit genocide against the Rohingya.”

Not everyone is sympathetic to Rohingya refugees.

Outside the camp in Cox’s Bazar, Mahabub Alam, a 29-year-old student from Ukhia, described the Rohingya as a “burden”.

“The Rohingya occupy the local labor market with lower daily wages and the job market is declining. Therefore, the Rohingya issue is a big issue for us,” Alam said.

Alam also accused Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar of being responsible for local crimes, including human trafficking.

Rohingya leaders object to their community being seen as responsible for crime and violence in some parts of Bangladesh, but these concerns are not limited to Cox’s Bazar locals.

“The people of Bangladesh are getting anxious about the lingering Rohingya issue,” Maj. Gen. Shahidul Haq, a former diplomat and Bangladesh’s military attaché to Myanmar, told Al Jazeera. “It’s affecting our law and order situation and our national security. I attended a seminar this week and everyone is concerned and wants this problem resolved. They expect the next government to resolve the problem.”

It’s unclear what that solution will be.

But back in his camp in Cox’s Bazar, Rohingya shopkeeper Ahmed knows what he wants from Bangladesh’s next government: a rightful return to Myanmar.

“I want to die in my homeland,” said the zodiac. “I want to go back to my hometown.”