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]