CHALLENGES OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES DURING THE PANDEMIC

Abstract

Pandemic has widened the glaring inequalities but they are often overlooked in the case of refugees. Pertaining to the persecution faced, approximately 3.5 million Rohingyas have been dispersed from their home land, Rakhine state of Myanmar to various countries like Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Their conditions are starkly different in each country like Bangladesh than in India but face different challenges respectively. Rohingya, being the largest stateless community, face several challenges such as food security, identity crisis and risk to their lives, which have exacerbated during the pandemic. In the light of the pandemic, Rohingyas face layered vulnerability with loss of jobs, cramped spaces, limited access to WASH and devoid social distancing norms. Specifically in India, they became the victims of Islamophobia due to Tablighi Jamaat incident which politicised their cause. Further, provision of financial aids or supporting activities have been halted due to imposed lockdown. The role of international agencies like UNHCR and UNICEF are extremely constructive in building the lives of the Rohingya community. Studies have shown that the immigrants are perceived as strength to their host countries and this is the point from where we need to build our global foundations of community building for such vulnerable communities. The efforts from the host countries such as integration and identification are highly recommended.