For 45-year-old Noor Jahan, displacement is not a one-time event—it is a cycle. Born in a village near Zay Di Pyin in Buthidaung, she first fled in 1991 during a military crackdown that reached her hamlet. She returned in 1993 with hope, but it was short-lived. In 2017, her house was burned to the ground by soldiers, and she crossed the Naf River once again. Today, she resides in a bamboo shelter in Camp-8E of Cox’s Bazar, where she raises three grandchildren. Her son, the father of those children, drowned in the Bay of Bengal in 2021 while attempting to reach Malaysia.
“Every time we think we can go back, the ground disappears again,” she said. “We run, rebuild, then we are burned again.”
In this fourth installment of our feature series “Rohingya on the Move,” we explore the recurring and layered cycles of displacement that have defined Rohingya lives for over four decades—from state-led expulsion campaigns and militarized land grabs to recent forced movements under armed group control.
Three Major Waves of Flight
1978: Operation Nagamin
The first large-scale forced displacement began with Operation Nagamin (Dragon King) in 1978. Ostensibly a citizenship verification campaign, it was used to target and expel non-documented populations. Over 200,000 Rohingya were driven into Bangladesh. Most returned under a repatriation deal, but many reported abuse, rape, and destruction of mosques during the operation.
1991–92: Repeated Military Crackdowns
Another exodus followed in the early 1990s when Myanmar’s military again targeted northern Rakhine. Nearly 250,000 Rohingya crossed the border, citing forced labor, sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and religious persecution. UNHCR coordinated repatriation, but rights groups later reported that many returns were coerced, with little safety.
2017: Genocidal Campaign
The largest and most brutal wave occurred in August 2017, following attacks on border posts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Myanmar’s military responded with what the UN described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Villages were burned, mass killings documented, and over 740,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh within weeks. Dozens of mass graves have since been verified by human rights observers.
“We walked for five days through jungle and river to reach the border,” said Halima Begum, who fled from Inn Din village with her children. “Only ashes were left behind.”
Displacement Within Myanmar: Segregation and Stagnation
In Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, more than 100,000 Rohingya remain confined in internal displacement camps established after communal violence in 2012. These IDP camps are fenced and guarded, with no freedom of movement, no access to formal schools or hospitals, and limited aid. UN special rapporteurs have called them open-air prisons.
With the rise of the Arakan Army (AA) since 2019, new patterns of displacement have emerged. While the AA claims to seek an inclusive Rakhine State, reports indicate that Rohingya villagers are being used for forced labor, forced to vacate homes, or taxed for protection.
“We hoped they [AA] would be different from the army, but they made us dig trenches, and then they looted our livestock,” said a Rohingya resident of Pulae Taung village, displaced in March 2024.
In many cases, displaced people from 2017 are being displaced again by new waves of conflict or armed group control. Entire families who returned to their native villages from Bangladesh camps in 2018–19 are now being pushed out again, this time with no means or documentation.
Displacement in Bangladesh: Life in Limbo
Over 1 million Rohingya refugees now live in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement. Camps like Kutupalong, Balukhali, and Nayapara are overcrowded, flood-prone, and insecure. Refugees lack legal status in Bangladesh and are barred from working legally. Aid has been reduced due to global funding cuts.
In 2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) reduced food assistance to $8 per person per month, down from $12—a cut that many humanitarian actors warned could lead more refugees to be exploited by traffickers and smugglers.
As the situation stagnates, a growing number of Rohingya are attempting sea journeys to Malaysia, often with fatal consequences.
“My husband tried twice. The first time he was sent back. The second time the boat never arrived,” said a widow from Camp-24. “Now I raise my children alone.”
Failed Promises of Repatriation
Since 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar have announced at least three formal repatriation attempts. All have failed. Refugees cite:
- Lack of safety
- No guarantee of citizenship
- No third-party international monitoring
- Continued military presence in their villages
While the recent verification of 180,000 individuals has renewed discussion, many Rohingya say the core conditions remain unchanged.
“They verify our names, but not our rights,” said a Rohingya teacher in Kutupalong. “What good is going back if we are not recognized as Rohingya?”
A Way Forward: From Repetition to Restoration
Experts stress that the Rohingya displacement is not a natural disaster—it is a policy-driven, political crisis that demands a structural solution:
- Legal recognition of Rohingya identity and citizenship under an inclusive framework
- Restoration of land rights and compensation for losses
- Accountability for past atrocities, including investigation into 2017 crimes
- Access to education, movement, and healthcare in both camps and any return sites
- Regional coordination and durable solutions for those who cannot return
Noor Jahan’s Story: A Life Measured in Camps
Noor Jahan has now lived in four different camps—two in Bangladesh, two inside Myanmar. Her memories are not in years, but in displacements.
“They take our land, our name, our homes. But we keep walking,” she said, clutching a photo of her son. “Even if we have nothing, we are still here.”
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