MPI's Migration Information Source Newsletter

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April 2, 2021

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Feature
Stateless and Persecuted: What Next for the Rohingya?
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/stateless-persecuted-rohingya
The Rohingya people have been rendered stateless and subjected to repeated abuse that has made them the world's most persecuted minority, with hundreds of thousands pushed into neighboring Bangladesh, as well as India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and beyond. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Rohingya, including who they are, where they come from, and how they have been systematically marginalized in their native Myanmar and internationally.

U.S. Policy Beat
Border Déjà Vu: Biden Confronts Similar Challenges as His Predecessors
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/border-deja-vu-biden-challenges
The number of unaccompanied child migrants at the U.S. southern border has risen, presenting President Joe Biden with challenges similar to those faced by his predecessors in 2014 and 2019. This article examines the previous episodes and evaluates how Biden is mirroring or deviating from previous presidents' responses.


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EDITOR'S NOTE

A devastating fire tore through the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh last week, offering the most recent reminder of the precarious conditions facing many refugees and asylum seekers in places where they have landed after sometimes long and dangerous journeys. The fire, which reportedly killed at least 15 people and left tens of thousands homeless, was disastrous for the more than 600,000 Rohingya refugees who call the sprawling settlement home. Hundreds of people were still missing in following days.

The recent fire follows a similar blaze in January, which destroyed more than 500 shelters in the nearby Nayapara camp.

As Amal de Chickera explains in a new article for the Migration Information Source, recent weeks have been especially insecure for the Rohingya, a majority-Muslim ethnic group from neighboring Myanmar. The Burmese military, which has been accused of gross atrocities against the Rohingya, took power in a February coup, casting further doubt on the likelihood of refugees' return. And in Bangladesh, the government has moved thousands of Rohingya to a remote, flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal despite complaints by rights groups and allegations of coercion.

The Cox's Bazar camps have also been subjected to monsoons, landslides, and other disasters that have hit the region in recent years. I visited as a journalist in 2017, when Cyclone Mora ravaged flimsy bamboo and plastic shelters spread out between a mix of official and unofficial camps. Disasters are not new, and the potential for deadly events has long been clear.

In key ways, the tragedy last week bore resemblance to a fire that leveled Greece's Moria refugee camp last September. In both cases, the devastation revealed the dire conditions inside the overcrowded camps and involved allegations against local officials: in Greece, the fire was believed to have been started by residents upset at coronavirus restrictions, while in Bangladesh early blame fell on government-erected barbed wire fencing that prevented refugees from escaping more quickly. Both situations have also featured some degree of animosity between local communities and migrants.

Greece recently announced that the Moria camp will not be rebuilt, and the site will instead be used for a park. Bangladesh's Kutupalong site will likely persist, due in part to its much larger size. But given the pressures mounting on the Rohingya, their future is anything but certain.

Best regards,

Julian Hattem

Editor, Migration Information Source

[email protected]


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NEW FROM MPI

Hampered by the Pandemic: Unaccompanied Child Arrivals Increase as Earlier Preparedness Shortfalls Limit the Response
www.migrationpolicy.org/news/unaccompanied-child-arrivals-earlier-preparedness-shortfalls
By Mark Greenberg

Funding English Learner Education: Making the Most of Policy and Budget Levers
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/funding-english-learner-education-policy-budget-levers
By Julie Sugarman

A Bridge to Firmer Ground: Learning from International Experiences to Support Pathways to Solutions in the Syrian Refugee Context
www.migrationpolicy.org/research/learning-international-experiences-syrian-refugee-context
By Camille Le Coz, Samuel Davidoff-Gore, Timo Schmidt, Susan Fratzke, Andrea Tanco, Maria Belen Zanzuchi and Jessica Bolter


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HAVE YOU READ?

Connecting the Dots: Emerging Migration Trends and Policy Questions in North and Central America
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/connecting-dots-emerging-migration-trends-and-policy-questions-north-and-central-america

The Emerging Crisis: Is Famine Returning as a Major Driver of Migration?
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/emerging-crisis-famine-returning-major-driver-migration

In Relatively Peaceful Tanzania, Climate Change and Migration Can Spur Conflict
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/tanzania-climate-change-migration-conflict


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MEDIA CORNER

The latest episode of MPI's "Changing Climate, Changing Migration" podcast asks whether climate change is driving migration from Central America, in a discussion with climatologist Diego Pons.
www.mpichangingclimatechangingmigration.podbean.com/e/is-climate-change-driving-migration-from-central-america/

Journalist Ty McCormick traces a refugee's story from the Dadaab camp in Kenya to Princeton University in "Beyond the Sand and Sea: One Family's Quest for a Country to Call Home."
[link removed]

"Lives That Resist Telling: Migrant and Refugee Lesbians," edited by Eithne Luibhéid, offers essays about experiences of queer, gay, and nonheteronormative migrant women in multiple countries.
www.routledge.com/Lives-That-Resist-Telling-Migrant-and-Refugee-Lesbians/Luibheid/p/book/9780367695361

Writer and essayist Roya Hakakian offers a witty and poignant look at being an immigrant in the United States in "A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious."
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602379/a-beginners-guide-to-america-by-roya-hakakian/

In "Border Nation: A Story of Migration," activist and author Leah Cowan makes a case for breaking down borders.
www.plutobooks.com/9780745341071/border-nation/

"Introducing Forced Migration" offers a primer on the issue, from Patricia Hynes.
www.routledge.com/Introducing-Forced-Migration/Hynes/p/book/9781138055483


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