Facts about the Rohingya crisis
Who are the Rohingya?
The Rohingya are an ethnic minority in Myanmar. They are predominantly Muslim, while the majority in the country are Buddhist. The Rohingya are mainly from Rakhine State in northern Myanmar. But a wave of ethnic violence has driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they primarily live in the Cox's Bazar District.
How the Rohingya crisis started
In 1982, Myanmar's Rohingya were denied citizenship, effectively rendering them stateless. Since then, the group has been repeatedly subjected to violence and persecution, and denied basic rights. The largest exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar began in late summer 2017. Here, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in a matter of months.
Today, more than 920,000 Rohingya live in the Cox's Bazar District of Bangladesh. The large influx of refugees means that some 444,000 local residents of the host community are now also in need of humanitarian assistance. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for support among an additional 509,000 local residents in the area. According to the UN, some 1.8 million people in the Cox's Bazar District are thus in need of humanitarian assistance.
What is Danish Refugee Council doing for the Rohingya?
DRC Danish Refugee Council has been active in Bangladesh since 2017, when the latest - and largest - group of Rohingya refugees arrived. Five years later, we are still working in ten Rohingya camps and two communities, providing various forms of assistance:
- We manage and develop the camps to improve living conditions for residents.
- We provide individual protection and identify and develop support options for vulnerable children and adults.
- We provide support for practical training, income-generating activities and environmental protection.
We repair and maintain housing.
The Danish Refugee Council has been active in Bangladesh since 2017. Here, the first team provided emergency assistance to the fleeing Rohingya and the host community, where people themselves are often poor and have few resources.