By: Camp Correspondent
4 July 2025 | Thousands of young Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh are growing increasingly frustrated and disillusioned, as hopes for repatriation to Myanmar remain stalled, Bangladesh’s Interim Leader Muhammad Yunus warned on Thursday.
“It is a sad situation. Thousands of young people are growing up in camps with no hope. They are becoming frustrated and angry,” Yunus said during a meeting in Dhaka with Miyazaki Katsura, Executive Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Bangladesh currently hosts over 1.3 million Rohingya Muslims, the vast majority of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine State in August 2017. Despite multiple international initiatives and trilateral talks, no formal repatriation process has been implemented to date.
During his meeting with JICA, Yunus called for greater global responsibility-sharing and urged Japan to increase support for Bangladesh, particularly in areas such as investment, fisheries, youth development, education, and sports—sectors he said are critical for both refugees and host communities.
At the same time, the living conditions in the camps are worsening, particularly during the ongoing monsoon season. According to the UNHCR, more than 2,930 people have been affected and over 435 shelters damaged in Cox’s Bazar over the past two weeks.
The combination of prolonged statelessness, limited opportunities, and deteriorating shelter conditions has left many young Rohingya struggling with anxiety, depression, and anger. Aid workers and community leaders warn that without urgent intervention, the growing hopelessness among youth could spiral into long-term instability.
“There is a ticking clock on this generation,” said a youth mentor working in the camps. “If we don’t invest in their future now, we risk losing it entirely.”
Observers say the situation demands renewed diplomatic urgency and concrete commitments toward safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation, alongside expanded educational and vocational opportunities for young Rohingya currently stranded in limbo.
