Rohingya refugee–host community conflicts in Bangladesh: issues and insights from the “field”

ABSTRACT

Despite being a resource-scarce country, Bangladesh hosts a million Rohingya refugees on humanitarian grounds and offers them protection, and shelter. How does their presence affect the provision of resources, services, and access for both residents and refugees? I analyze the conflict and competition over limited resources. I argue that the arrival of the Rohingyas has caused significant distress to the host community in Cox’s Bazar district, but there is an inadequate reflection on their distress. By examining the locals’ relationships with the refugees through field engagements, I argue their presence leads to conflict, in three main areas: public service provision, economic resources, and environmental resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Rohingya
• host community
• locals
• conflict
• social tensions
• resources
• Bangladesh
• Cox’s Bazar

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Md Reza Habib

Md Reza Habib is a PhD research student at the HSE University’s Doctoral School of Sociology in Moscow, Russia. He worked with several national and international research organizations. His main research interests are migration, refugees, gender, environment, and community media. He holds an MPhil degree in Anthropology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.