By: Camp Correspondent
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | July 13, 2025
The humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps has entered a dangerous new phase. Over the past 18 months, more than 150,000 Rohingya men, women, and children have fled escalating violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, seeking shelter in the already overcrowded camps of Cox’s Bazar.
This marks the largest wave of displacement since the mass exodus of 2017, when over 750,000 Rohingyas were forced to escape state-backed atrocities in Myanmar. Today, with more than one million refugees confined to just 24 square kilometres of land, the camps stand on the verge of collapse.
According to a recent update from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), essential services are rapidly running out of time and resources. Health care across the camps could be disrupted as early as September. Food rations, which have already been cut in recent months, may stop altogether by December if new funding is not secured. In March, the World Food Programme issued a stark warning that without immediate donor support, food distribution will become unsustainable.
Education services are also under threat. Humanitarian organizations report that nearly 240,000 Rohingya children, including 63,000 among the newest arrivals, are at risk of losing access to basic education.
“Without urgent action, an entire generation may grow up without learning, safety, or hope,” said a Rohingya community educator in Camp 17.
As of June 2025, more than 121,000 of the newly displaced have been officially registered through biometric data, although many others remain undocumented and live informally across the camps. Most of the new arrivals are women and children fleeing violence, forced conscription, and widespread persecution in northern and central Rakhine.
Trapped on the Edge of a Stateless Existence
Despite repeated promises from global institutions, the prospects for safe and voluntary return to Myanmar remain distant. Armed conflict has intensified across Rakhine State, and the military’s alliance with proxy forces continues to sow instability. In areas under the control of the Arakan Army, human rights groups have reported fresh abuses against Rohingya communities, including forced displacement, village burnings, and restrictions on movement.
From our perspective as refugees, we observe that the international community’s engagement often begins and ends with statements of concern. Repatriation discussions have stalled repeatedly over the past six years, and no meaningful conditions have been established for return. In the meantime, we are left in limbo — denied a future in our homeland, yet never fully accepted in the land of refuge.
Growing Fragility in the Camps
Refugees inside the camps say the situation has become more fragile than at any point since 2017. Informal housing has expanded deep into forested areas. Sanitation systems are breaking down. Criminal networks and violent factions have taken advantage of growing despair.
Yet, in the absence of international protection, solidarity among the Rohingya has become the strongest lifeline. Many of those who arrived years ago are now sharing what little they have with new families arriving from across the Naf River.
“There is no room left, but we make room. We know what it means to arrive with nothing,” said a resident of Camp 26.
Global Attention Fades, But Needs Multiply
Despite clear warnings, donor fatigue continues to undermine humanitarian operations. The 2025–2026 Joint Response Plan, coordinated by the United Nations, is seeking 934.5 million dollars to support 1.48 million people, including both Rohingya refugees and host communities. As of mid-July, only a fraction of that target has been met.
The shrinking of aid has raised alarms not only among humanitarian groups but also among regional observers who worry that the neglect of the Rohingya population could fuel wider instability in Southeast Asia.
Without sustained and serious intervention, a worsening humanitarian disaster is imminent.
A Plea for Dignity, Not Just Donations
As Rohingya, we do not ask for charity. We ask for justice. We ask for dignity. We ask the world not to look away while more of our people arrive every week — injured, terrified, and displaced — only to find themselves trapped in a cage of compassion that is beginning to rust.
It is time for global actors to act beyond pledges. Until genuine solutions are pursued and enforced, our lives will remain paused between borders, our futures dictated by politics we did not create, and our rights negotiated by powers that rarely listen to our voices.
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